The fact that kids under 14 are not allowed to join Facebook does not mean they are not present on the network. They often appear in image galleries published by their proud parents and they are sometimes even shared not only with “friends” but with larger audiences. Just recently, the Californian Social Media giant has even made it possible for expecting mothers to share their sweet anticipation in their profile settings. This is not always in the interest of the offspring and can even be risky, bloggers and social media groups point out.
„Especially young women often exchange their profile picture for an image of their child“, says the author of the Austrian blog „Phänomen Facebook“. But the youngsters also appear on images in the newsfeed, stroking their first pet or learning to cycle, sometimes even with their names tagged. Given the age restrictions of Facebook, and the fact that this in almost all cases happens without the consent of the child, is not only legally questionable but also raises moral issues.
„Also children have a right to privacy and data protection“, explains the blogger. Parents should publish images of their children only when they are older than 14 and with their consent. „Should the kids be younger, it is advisable to either not post their images at all or only those images that do not violate the interests of the children“, says Lukas Feiler, legal and IT expert. Which, of course, is a matter of private opinion and taste.
This problem has also become apparent on YouTube over the last few years. Here, parents have uploaded videos showing their kids in embarrassing situations just to get a laugh. Some of these clips have fetched millions of clicks and could be embedded and downloaded by anyone. The repercussions for the unasked stars in their later lives cannot be predicted. Equally, on Facebook, the kid pics are shared with about 130 „friends“ – which is the average number of “friends” each Facebook user has. Legally, this can be called public in many countries (such as Austria), says Lukas Feiler.
But also for mothers-to-be it is not advisable to announce their growing belly online – though it is, of course, understandable that young women want to share this exciting phase of their lives. However, it has to be considered that these news might not be warmly welcomed by employers and colleagues (although they will obviously find out in due course). There is, of course, also the slight possibility that the pregnancy might have an unlucky ending: a lot of questions and undesired phone calls could be the result.
