Law regulating children’s publications on the Internet soon?
Posted on January 30, 2023 at 6:26 pm.
Law regulating children’s publications on the Internet soon? – © iladendron/iStock
Renaissance MP Bruno Studer is the author of a bill to prevent children from overexposure to social networks.
Should you post your child’s photos on Facebook and Instagram or not? If the question is discussed between the parents, it can soon be settled by law.
This is Bruno Studer’s dream anyway. On January 19, this member of the presidential majority presented to the Milli Majlis a draft law aimed at regulating the practice of “sharing” (“sharing” and “parenting”, “sharing” contract meaning “parenting”). parents have to post pictures of their children, their first steps or going to school on social networks.
Content directed by pedophile criminals
Faced with this increasingly visible and unsafe trend, the elected official’s goal is to ensure respect for children’s image rights and protect their privacy. “It is estimated that by the age of 13, an average child will appear in 1,300 photos published on the Internet, on their own, their parents’, or their relatives’ accounts,” explains Bruno Studer in his report.
But these images, released even for a limited audience, can fall into the wrong hands. “50% of photos shared on child pornography forums were originally posted by parents on social networks. Some images, especially photos of naked babies or young girls in gym clothes, are of particular interest to pedophile circles; the problem therefore goes far beyond sexual content posted online by parents or children themselves. At worst, information released about children’s daily lives can allow individuals to identify their location and living habits for purposes of sexual predation. Finally, in addition to the pedophile risk, content posted on the Internet can harm a child in the long term, without the possibility of obtaining its absolute removal,” the bill details.
Introduction to body standards
Aside from the risk of images being reproduced by malicious people, the risk of your child being exposed on social media can be even more insidious. Caroline Mallet, a lecturer in social marketing at the University of Rouen-Normandy, wondered in an interview with ELLE.fr: “What message are we sending our children? They can’t express their feelings, maybe they don’t agree with their picture being taken and then posted on social networks. We don’t ask them for their opinion and they are exposed in spite of themselves and that inevitably raises questions. »
This exposure to social media from a young age can also expose him to “social and media standards that are spread online.” “We now know their impact on eating disorders. Young girls are greatly affected by the weight of body standards, they question their appearance, they begin to develop complexes, and in some cases they can adopt deviant behaviors, “said Caroline Mallet.
Mandatory assignment of parental authority in case of abuse
In order to avoid these abuses and protect children from unauthorized overexposure on the Internet, Bruno Studer proposes to “incorporate the concept of privacy into the definition of parental authority” through his law, as well as “pave the way for compulsory delegation”. parental authority in cases where the interests of the parents conflict with the interests of the child in the exercise of his right to his image.
Currently, French law does not specify anything about children’s image rights. Thus, Article 226-1 of the Criminal Code states that anyone who broadcasts or publishes images of third parties without their consent faces a one-year prison sentence or a fine of 45,000 euros. However, when you are a minor, you share your image rights with your parents or legal guardian. A shortcoming highlighted by Justine Atlan, president of the E-Enfance association: “Parents think that their children own the image rights and can do whatever they want with it. However, “you have to consider that one day children will grow up and have their own image, and then their parents will have more they will unknowingly inherit everything they have published before. The existence of social networks forces us to be more aware of this image.”
Bruno Studer’s bill could be put to the vote of the National Assembly in the second week of March.
