Dutch grandma fined for Facebook pics

ADUTCH court has imposed a fine of €50 (R975) a day for each day a woman refuses to remove pictures of her grandchildren from Facebook and Pinterest. Her daughter (the children’s mom) asked her to remove pictures of the children from social media as posting them violated their privacy and there’d been no consent for the images to be shared. The grandmother refused, and the case ended up in court. Why do you need to be careful sharing pictures of children?

Once a picture has been shared publicly online, it stays there forever. We call that a “digital footprint”. So it’s not only that you might be embarrassed to see pictures of yourself online as a baby or toddler, it’s also about the fact that anyone – even strangers – can see your pictures. And you have no control over how they might use those pictures.

Some people might also be worried that someday, when they apply for a job, anyone can search them on Google and see a bunch of children’s pictures of them – pictures that were posted before they were able to give consent.

It hasn’t happened in SA yet but internationally some people have sued their parents when they turned 18 for breach of privacy because the pictures were uploaded without their consent. How does it work in SA?

Before anyone takes a picture of you and publishes it anywhere (including social media), they need to get permission from your parents or legal guardian to do so. Your parents are your legal guardians until you’re 18 years old, and it’s their responsibility to ensure your privacy and safety. Many schools have parents sign a consent form giving them permission to share pictures of the pupils on, for example, the school’s Facebook page.

If your mom is sharing pictures of you online and it makes you uncomfortable, talk to her about it. Ask her to stop or to make sure her Facebook settings are set to the strictest privacy, so that only friends and family can see the pictures.