In the age of smartphones and the Internet, many moms and dads want to share their love and admiration for their children, and show them off to the rest of the world. AND Although the intentions may be good, the reality is that they could be exposing them to great risks and violations.
This was stated by a Harvard Law academic, Leah Plunkett, who wrote a book about how publishing photographs of minors puts at risk risk your privacy and personal data. And their exposed faces could be used by malicious third parties.
These are the risks to which children and adolescents are exposed on the Internet.
Why you shouldn’t post photos of minors on the Internet
According to Plunkett in an interview with NPR, There is a black market on the Internet where bad people take advantage of the photographs of boys and girls to steal their identity and even harass them.
“Data such as the name, date of birth and address of children can be used to open fraudulent lines of credit.” But In addition to the economic risk, some children may be victims of bullying, harassment, and stalking. There may be people who find out all the details of the child, including their schedules and routines.
Additionally, By publishing photographs of minors’ faces on social networks, parents would be (unconsciously) allowing the different platforms to use the photos and videos for other purposes. This, without mentioning that Artificial Intelligence can be used with bad intentions to make use of images of their faces.
So what can I upload about my children to the Internet?
When choosing what to upload about boys and girls on social networks, Plunkett recommended the “greeting card” rule: only post what you consider appropriate to be written on a greeting card.
Besidesurged not to publish the faces of minors, much less detailed information about what activities they carry out or what locations they usually frequent. For example, not uploading which daycare or kindergarten you attend, among other sensitive data.
In case an event is held with more children, such as a birthday party or baptisms, Address privacy with other adults and ask them not to share content without permission. That is, request not to publish photographs, at least of your sons and daughters.
AND, If you’ve already posted images of your little ones online, the Harvard expert warned not to panic: “Don’t be hard on yourselves.” There is always the option to delete posts and adjust privacy settings of each social network so that outsiders cannot easily access the sensitive information of minors, much less photographs of their faces.
