If you share an embarrassing picture of your kids on Facebook, you might get sued.
An 18-year old woman in Austria is suing her parents, saying they posted more than 500 images of her without her consent. Dad says he took the pictures so he has the rights. The daughter disagrees.
It’s not just an isolated incident. There’s a growing movement about pictures of children online that may lead to significant changes.
“They knew no shame and no limit — and didn’t care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot — every stage was photographed and then made public” – Unidentified woman suing her parents over posting Facebook pictures to a newspaper in Austria
The daughter wants the photos removed and some money. Her lawyer says she has a good chance of winning.
It’s not just Austria. France police have asked parents to stop posting pictures of their children on-line. Kids have the right to sue there. Parents could face fines or even jail time for breach of privacy.
iRights
There’s a growing movement, mainly in Europe right now, about what’s being called “iRights.” iRights means that you have the right to control information about you that’s posted on-line. In other words, if someone posts a picture of you on-line and you don’t like it, you should have the right to get it off-line.
In this case, they are focused on minors. Children (under 18) would have the rights to have photos or information that is damaging to their reputation deleted.
“iRights gives a unique insight into how government can join with technology companies, civil society and business to make a better digital world for young people.” – Joanna Shields, former managing director of Google in Europe, in The Telegraph
Advocates are asking for a “delete button” that lets those under 18 request information be removed from websites.
According to The Telegraph, the plan has the support of Microsoft and Mozilla.
The European Union is working on a proposal now that would let adults remove any images or text posted about them when they were under 18.
Facebook is considering a notification system for parents who post pictures of their children without restricting privacy settings.
“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?’” – Jay Parikh, Facebook VP to the Telegraph
Paul Dughi.com 