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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

That posting children on social media should be banned?

81 replies

TartanPaper · 01/09/2024 12:55

We’ve already seen serious forms of abuse happening and they’re continuing.

The woman who posts her little girl doing handstands in dresses and sucking on ice lollies, the orphan girl who was exploited, the woman who forced her children to cry a certain way when they were already grieving over a pet, the woman who was abusing her kids whilst posting about how to keep them in line, the autistic children whose every move is filmed so their outbursts can be posted…

I think it’s time that all children’s faces were banned from social media till they are 16. The age of having an account should be 16 and social media platforms should be stricter at seeking and banning accounts that posts children’s faces.

I recently came across an account of a small girl and looked at her followers. Nearly all grown men. I selected a few at random and the second one I looked at had no posts and was following nearly all little girls accounts. It’s disgusting, we all know who and what he is but he can stay and watch because the parents and guardians are happy to make money off these small children. Some are literally selling them out to paedophiles in front of our faces and no one can do anything.

I know people will say on here they they post pictures of their kids on private accounts but the things paedos do with the photos of the kids is horrendous, there have been stalking cases, AI generation, children’s faces turned into pornographic images and videos. It’s sickening and surely we need to protect our kids more than we need to share pictures with family or make a few quid out of them?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 01/09/2024 13:08

It’s up to us as parents to protect our children’s faces, privacy and identity.

yes. Up to us as parents, not up to the government or social media companies.

DelurkingAJ · 01/09/2024 13:07

I agree re ‘kid content’. That’s extremely difficult to justify. I just happen not to agree about kids photos on a closed Facebook profile (where the tech companies most certainly could stop everyone else looking at them unless otherwise specified). I think it’s because I have a lot of scattered (around the world) friends and family and love seeing the odd photo of eg their kids going back to school.

FatmanandKnobbin · 01/09/2024 13:05

Making money from kids online should be banned.

I'm not sure how workable banning any images of kids would be.

TartanPaper · 01/09/2024 13:04

DelurkingAJ · 01/09/2024 12:57

I understand where you are coming from but I think you’re taking the wrong approach. Instead, I believe, the tech companies should get their act together, shut these things down (and have the auto settings mean nothing is shared unless you opt to), and work hand in glove with the police.

Otherwise, shouldn’t we ban taking children to the park because a stranger could video them on their phone. Or to the pool. Or…

How do they stop men watching kids? Or taking their photos? They can’t. It’s up to us as parents to protect our children’s faces, privacy and identity.

And it’s different, you go out for a purpose, there is no purpose to making kids content. If you want to send a photo or video or Aunty Jan then send it, it doesn’t need to go on Instagram or TikTok.

OP posts:
CrazyGoatLady · 01/09/2024 13:02

I'm certainly with you on children being used for any kind of influencer content/vlogging/blogging, especially where it's monetized. If the parent is making money off the kids, even if they're doing something like saving proceeds for college, it could be seen as a form of child exploitation to make a child "perform" in this way.

Young children can't consent fully to this and it's very difficult to get rid of the content entirely when a child is older and decides they want it removed.

As a psychologist by trade, I can think of lots of reasons why this is very harmful for child development, child/parent relationships, relationships with others.

Private photos etc being shared with family/friends feels a bit different but I still don't think a lot of people fully appreciate and weigh up all the potential consequences and risks. We had a total embargo when ours were little, as did DH's brother and SIL, and the PIL repeatedly broke it. It was frustrating.

DelurkingAJ · 01/09/2024 12:57

I understand where you are coming from but I think you’re taking the wrong approach. Instead, I believe, the tech companies should get their act together, shut these things down (and have the auto settings mean nothing is shared unless you opt to), and work hand in glove with the police.

Otherwise, shouldn’t we ban taking children to the park because a stranger could video them on their phone. Or to the pool. Or…