17 November 2025
Professor Pamela Ugwudike and Professor Stuart Middleton, met with Members of Parliament in Westminster on Wednesday, 5 November to present the latest insights from their research on harmful ‘sharenting’ which occurs when parents share their children’s personal information and images social media, inadvertently exposing them to online harms. The pair were joined by Tiffany Withers, Public Policy | Southampton's Parliamentary and Communications Officer.
As part of Evidence Week in Parliament, University of Southampton researchers made policy recommendations and highlighted the need to review current policies considering the latest available evidence. Evidence Week is a unique annual meeting that brings together the public, parliamentarians and researchers from across the UK to discuss how evidence is used and reviewed in Parliament.
The Southampton team presented their findings to members of Parliament, including Bayo Alaba MP, Calvin Bailey MP, Gill Furniss MP, Monica Harding MP, Paul Holmes MP and Tom Collins MP, equipping them with vital information to inform the decisions they make on future policies concerning children’s online safety. The team told MPs that existing policies and legislations need to be expanded to protect children affected by harmful sharenting.
Professor Pamela Ugwudike said: “Our research provides evidence to show that sharenting is prevalent in the UK and the practice exposes children to digital harms, from identity-related crimes to cyberbullying, harassment, and contact from strangers. Sharenting can also affect children’s rights to an identity, autonomy, and privacy under Articles 8, 12, and 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (UNCRC) respectively. MPs could pressure platform providers to add ‘sharenting’ to their list of risks for AI moderation”.
Remarking on the online safety resources produced by the research team, Professor Stuart Middleton added: “Our AI model demonstrates how platform providers could use AI moderation to detect sharenting risks. Our animated online safety video and our sharenting risk awareness checklist (freely available via) can form part of a national awareness raising campaign”.
Evidence Week, now in its eighth year, is run by the campaigning charity Sense about Science, in partnership with the Quadram Institute, the UK Statistics Authority, communities and research institutions from across the UK. During the week, MPs meet with leading scientists to get the latest insights on pressing issues covering topics as varied as Artificial Intelligence, health, sports gambling and prison management. It is an opportunity for the public, parliamentarians and researchers to come together to share knowledge and insights.
It also empowers legislators to engage with evidence and equips them with the critical tools to handle uncertainty, identify bias and scrutinise underlying assumptions.
Tracey Brown, Director of Sense about Science, said:
“MPs must engage with an astounding breadth of subjects and sources any given week. This is why Evidence Week in Parliament offers two days of rapid-fire briefings on cutting-edge tools and insights with some of the UK’s leading research groups. We’re delighted that MPs have the chance to hear directly from the University of Southampton about their new insights on 'Sharenting' that can inform children's online safety policy.”
Read the Harmful Sharenting policy brief here.
