Posting Pictures of Your Children on Facebook Could Lead to a Lawsuit

Digital Trends

In one of the weirder stories I've read recently, French parents could face fines or prison time if they post pictures of their children online that they do not want there. The more you look into the story, the more it makes sense but it's still a little bit of an odd one.

Basically after everything that's happened with France and Facebook when it comes to privacy, they've managed to find something to agree on. Facebook is on the internet and some pictures can be accessed by anyone. You have no say in photos other people upload of you and it can be embarrassing or lead to trouble. When you're a kid you have even less say if your parents decide to post a picture of you in the bath or running around in very little. These pictures are innocent but when you get older, they're not something you want shared. If parents then decided that no, they wouldn't remove them at your request, you could then sue them. It seems a little bit over the top to be saying that if you're now an adult and a childhood photo embarrasses you then you can sue your parents for posting it. If it is an awkward picture or one that might be considered intimate in one way or another then fair enough, get them to remove it as it probably shouldn't be online anyway but this whole thing is going to go a little crazy and some people could wind up being fined over something ridiculous if people aren't careful. Even as adults photos end up on your Facebook that you don't want shared and you don't sue your mates for posting pictures of you drunk.

However this new law could have a more positive effect. What the French government and Facebook aren't saying is never post pictures of your kids online just in case they don't like it. That would be ridiculous because Facebook allows you to share these things with friends and family who might not be close enough to see the kids otherwise and they know it wouldn't work. What they are saying is maybe don't post pictures of your kid in the bathtub and maybe only share the photos you do post with friends and family. The privacy settings are there for a reason and it makes those pictures harder to access by those who shouldn't see them. The fact is some of these innocent pictures do end up on websites for paedophiles and you don't want your kid to wind up on one. This has been brought in to protect your children's safety and it's a good step to make. Facebook are also saying don't post pictures for these challenges as well. This can be a way for people to get the pictures so you need to be wary.

Facebook are suggesting putting up a notification setting in the future to remind parents to make photos of their kids private when they post them. If they go to post a picture public then they'll be reminded that anyone could see this picture and are they sure they want to do that? Obviously that won't stop everyone but it will make some people stop and think which can only be a good thing.

Basically France are getting serious about children’s privacy and though some of the reasons make sense, it still seems ridiculous that someone would sue their parents for posting a bad picture of them when they were 12. We post bad pictures of ourselves on Facebook starting at age 13 and even if we regret them we don’t punish ourselves. It is one thing to remind parents to be careful about the pictures that they post though and that I definitely approve of.

Rosina Brooker

Rosina is a Songbird rookie with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is hoping that Content Writing will turn out to be a good career choice in the mean time! Follow her @RosinaAtSMF

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