Parents : be careful about sharing images of your children online

Since October 11, children have (will soon have) a little more right to privacy.

Indeed, many topics concerning influencers are in the process of being better managed. This has led to some questions about the economic aspect on the one hand and ethical on the other hand.

It is perhaps thanks to this new profession, whose outlines are still unclear, that we are really asking ourselves questions about the global presence of minors online. Because imagine that the phenomenon of child influencers is not negligible and leads to similar behaviors among all minors online.

So, a text to protect children from excessive exposure on social networks was recently adopted by the National Assembly.

So certainly, excessive exposure does not necessarily lead to the “child influencer” criterion. But this text has the merit of starting to deal with the subject of children's online presence.

With this text, the agreement of both parents will now be required to post content relating to their child online. This might seem obvious, but a number of disputes suggested that it was essential to remember it.
In fact, 50% of the photographs that are exchanged on child pornography forums were initially published by parents on their social networks (figures taken from a report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).

We had already had the opportunity to talk about it in a previous article.

So of course, this can be scary, but we are all aware that the purpose, the objective pursued by the parent who posts photos of their child on the Internet, is very far from the consequences that can result from it. We must be aware of this, because what we post no longer belongs to us.

According to a 2018 British survey, “parents post an average of 1,300 photos of their children before they reach the age of 13”!

13 years old? But wouldn't that be the minimum age for a child or young adolescent to be able to register on most social media platforms?

One can rightly ask, “what is the point in fighting to establish a legal age if the parents themselves expose their children” or get caught up in the cocktail: show, post, display a dream life, show your victories, take photos directly on the web, post, share and the icing on the cake: do not check access and confidentiality.

In short, forget that any trace on the canvas does not disappear in the washing machine like a stain on a bib.

Legislation is emerging and you tell yourself that the hardest part is being done to protect children from the propensity of parents to expose them on the networks? Not so sure!

The Senate must review this text again. Some questions may still emerge concerning the implementation of specific actions to protect minors. And that's good because in our opinion, many questions remain unanswered: what in the event of parental disagreement? How to promote parental awareness? What consequences can exposure on social networks have on children's development and behavior?

The aim of this law is really only a means of empowering parents, to make them realize, to react, it is only this reaction that will allow children to finally understand that they have their own conscience and individuality.

So they have as much right to say “no” as any other human being. If they haven't learned to say it yet, don't expose them. Simple advice: discover, experience in this real daily space a more beautiful adventure than what you will get in dopamine by sharing his first chocolate mousse covering half of his face.

So yes, there is still a long way to go in order to guarantee comprehensive protection for minors, it is up to everyone to act in this direction.
Parents, if you are afraid for your children on the street, why expose them on the internet? We give you every opportunity to answer this question.

Remember, when you yourself parents post photos of your children or the children of your friends/family on social networks, you are giving this anonymous person the opportunity to use this information, this data, the image of the child and his personal information.

You will never be able to regain full possession of his image again and he will never have had a say in it.
That is why this message must be imposed on schools. Everything that happens in real life does not have to be transposed onto the web.

What the CNIL says: https://www.cnil.fr/fr/cnil-direct/question/mon-enfant-ete-pris-en-photo-lecole-puis-je-mopposer-lutilisation-de-son-image
To go further... the CNIL has just decided on the subject on December 18, 2023 and gives you some keys on how to proceed depending on the networks:
https://www.cnil.fr/fr/partage-de-photos-et-videos-de-votre-enfant-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-quels-sont-les-risques
https://www.nominet.uk/2-7m-parents-share-family-photos-complete-strangers-online/