You may think that it is cute as a parent to post your child’s photo running around in a nappy on Facebook or Twitter. However the child may think otherwise when he grows up.
French authorities are saying you should think before you post it as you may face fines of up to £35,000 and a year in prison for posting intimate photos of your children on social media without permission as part of the country’s strict privacy laws.
Grown-ups who sue their parents for breaching their right to privacy as children could obtain substantial compensation awards, according to French legal experts.
According to the Guardian, “A 2015 study by internet company Nominet found parents in the UK post nearly 200 photos of their under fives online every year, meaning a child will feature in around 1,000 online photos before their fifth birthday.”
“Parents have to work out what’s right for them, but be aware that this is another person, another human being, who may not thank them for it in 15 years to come.” so says Professor Nicola Whitton of Manchester Metropolitan University. She adds, “It may seem hard, but my line would be don’t put pictures online until they’re of an age where it’s appropriate to discuss it with them.”
A recent University of Michigan study found that children aged 10 to 17 “were really concerned” about the ways parents shared their children’s lives online
Jay Parikh, a vice-president of Facebook, said the service was considering setting up a system to notify parents who put photographs of children online without restricting their privacy settings.
Mr Parikh said: “If I was putting online a photo of my kids playing in the park, and I accidentally shared it with everyone, the system could say: “Hey, wait a minute, this is a picture of your children. Usually you only send them to members of your family. Are you sure you want to do this?’”
Photo Credit: CSMonitor.com
