Parents who eagerly post photos of their children on social media sites like Facebook might have to think twice about it, lest they want to land in jail, thanks to a new privacy law imposed in France.
The photos in question aren't just limited to naked children's pictures that could be targeted by pedophiles. French experts believe that certain photos also violate the rights of the kids, especially when they do not give their consent to post it.
With gadget use becoming second nature to everyone, it's fairly common to find parents sharing their kids' adorable pics on the Internet. However, French authorities want this to stop in order to protect children from potential embarrassment when they are older.
"In a few years, children could easily take their parents to court for publishing photos of them when they were younger," said Eric Delcroix, an Internet Law expert. "Children at certain stages do not wish to be photographed or still less for those photos to be made public."
Authorities can fine parents who violate the law for up to $48,000. They could also be sent to prison for a year. "We often criticize teenagers for their online behavior, but parents are no better," Delcroix added.
French police also posted a warning on their Facebook page, where parents are likely to see this and share with their contacts. "Well, of course, you can all be proud or proud to be a mom or dad beautiful toddlers, but be careful! We remind you that post pictures of his kids on Facebook is not without danger!" the advise read. The move to ban parents from posting their children's photos online was triggered by an on-going Facebook game that had moms posting family photos while tagging 10 of their contacts to do the same.
Meanwhile, Facebook is aware of these issues with eager parents and are planning to set security measures in place. Jay Parikh, the social network's head of engineering, has some ideas about it back in November. "If I were to upload a photo of my kids playing at the park and I accidentally had it shared with the public, this system could say: Hey wait a minute, this is a photo of your kids, and normally you post this to just your family members, are you sure you want to do this?" Parikh said.
