Child being used in huge ad without consent

I think it would’ve made sense and is perfectly acceptable to complain about the photo being used and asked to be taken down on ethical and principals. 100%. But the minute you ask for compensation it spoils it.

But you don't want him to be a photography model do you? Unless I've misunderstood the issue is that you don't want his image to appear on social media or anywhere public. In which case, I don't understand why you're asking for money instead of insisting they take the image down.

No one who works in advertising is doing this for £100. That’s a tiny amount of money - and she isn’t even asking for cash, she’s asking for the club to give her a free spot at a holiday club - so costing the club even less.

She is, quite rightly, making a stand against the use of her child’s
image without consent.

The commercial use of someone’s image requires permission - she denied that permission by email 3 months ago. They used it anyway.

It would likely cost them a lot more to take down the posters and reprint, and she could still sue for the use without permission - again, costing them a lot more in compensation and fines.

This isn’t about money, it’s about not allowing a business to flout the law, and about taking a stand to protect the value of image rights.

You can make different choices for your children, but don’t shame the OP for protecting hers.

Either you don't want your kids image used or you don't mind as long as they pay you. Make up your mind

This.

Well she said she basically let it slide when pictures were used on socials but when a banner appeared she suddenly wanted money.

So I think it’s that part we would find interesting

I'll ask again as u can't see that you've answered previous posters.... Did you tick or sign any waivers re your child's photo being taken or used at any point ?
If so, what did it say the image could be used for?
This is key here

You are not overthinking it, they need your consent as his parent. Did you sign a waiver allowing them to use his image?

• The Data Protection Act 1998 requires consent for recording or photographing children for other than private use.

You can report this to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The Information Commissioner's Office upholds information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. https://ico.org.uk/

I suspect the answer is yes. That’s why OP is chancing her arm trying to get paid by taking the ‘principled’ stance. It has a whiff of old ‘compo’ vibe about it.

Did you sign a privacy agreement when you signed up? All schools and clubs have them now which means if you don’t agree to your child’s photo being taken then it won’t be. If you didn’t sign to opt in then the club has broken a contract. If you didn’t tell them then that’s on you.

As for making money, what is the club? Our local cricket and rugby clubs are always running at a loss, it’s run by volunteers and heavily supported by the parents. It doesn’t sound like it’s the same.

Either way, I think it’s fine for you to ask them to take it down but also make sure you have opted to have your child removed from all photographs in the future. Easy.

How bloody irresponsible of them. If this had been a looked after child and they plastered their image everywhere there could be serious consequences. both for the child, foster parents and the school.

When I was a child my mother, sibling and I were in a police safe house for several weeks to ensure my father couldn't find us, he was considered such a risk to us. Small town and not many primary schools so wouldn't have taken long or him t o spot a massive banner with our faces on it.

It's ridiculous they did this without parental / guardian consent. Not sure i'd be chasing for compensation but more to ram home the safeguarding issues.

They have broken the law
https://www.justanswer.co.uk/law/d8web-photo-used-advertisement-without.html

Send recorded delivery a letter containing the following:

Copies of the letters you have written

Require proof that the offending advert is removed within 24 hours of receipt

Demand a full refund of all the fees you have ever paid, plus a 100% uplift as compensation

Inform them that you are leaving the club

Warn them that failure to pay within ten working days will result in a court case

Report them to their professional body, and the local TSO, and write a one-star review on Trustpilot, Google, any local review sites

Asking for your child to be remunerated for the use of their images, or for them to be removed is in no way ‘fucking it up’.

Commercial organisations (operating in the community, or internationally) should follow the local data privacy rules. Breach of such rules should be resolved. OP is stating that they would only consider giving consent if this was a paid / remunerated opportunity, which is perfectly fair.

In another world where this child was living in protected circumstances, the use of these images without prior consent could seriously jeopardise the safety of the child and / or their parent.

You must surely have signed a consent when they joined the club….? Either you consented, in which case you are being grabby and should have read the contract properly at the time, or you didn’t, in which case they shouldn’t be using the image at all, and you should be asking to have it removed not for money.

I don’t generally put my DS on social media. He is currently on billboards and bus advertising and we didn’t ask for a penny because DS has disabilities and I think it’s really important for as many people as possible to see that disabled children benefit from the thing the ad is for. They aren’t exploiting him for his disability, they are showing other families of disabled kids that this thing is for them. That would be a more charitable way to look at your DC’s club too - if they are in an ethnic minority then their use in the ad shows people of ethnic minorities that a sport or club they may not have considered is for them too?

It’s in the first post:

“I had previously emailed them (about 3 months ago) letting them know my children's images cannot be used for commercial purposes.”

Even if she had ticked a box or signed T&Cs to agree to commercial use previously, that email is her withdrawing consent and is the current legal standing.

Photographers hold the copyright but models retain their image rights. Both must be licensed, with or without renumeration, and with whatever restrictions on usage, territory and length of term required.

All media, worldwide, in perpetuity being the least restrictive assignation.

Basically you want some dosh. Why dress it up as some sort of moral and principled outrage.

Either you are happy for your child(ren) to appear on social media or you aren't. Clearly you are happy for them to be on SM provided you get some cash.

I disagree. I wasn’t happy. If in the first place they’d have offered the money I’d have said no. But they did it anyway so the least they could do is pay me for it. Otherwise there’s no penalty for just doing what the hell they want with our images for commercial gain.

I work with kids and do sometimes have photographers in to shoot for our promotional material. We always get parents permission before the start. And our photographers are always very professional too. Safeguarding is a huge concern so we check and double check images to make sure no child whose parents didn't sign appears. I'm surprised that nobody - the photographer, the person who booked the photographer or the person hosting the event didn't pick this up. It also wouldn't occur to pay anyone.

Seems like your child should go into modelling in your area and be paid for it!

Yep, this.

Total drama, for no reason.

This happened to me - but with a big advertiser on a national campaign - and we’d ticked the do no consent box. They gave me a load of money!

OP hasn't actually said that she denied consent, she hasn't actually answered that question at all

OP, when you signed up to the club, did you tick the box granting permission for them to take and use images of your child or not?

Would your husband use the image of a child without parental permission?

If not then it’s not really the same situation.

You do if it’s used for commercial purposes - which an advertising banner is.

This isn’t the same as a few photos of the match being used in a newsletter or social media post about a tournament.

It’s not money grabbing to know the worth of your image. This isn’t a community or charity venture, it’s a private one. They might not be making mega bucks, but they are a business and advertising budgets should be factored into their operating costs.

I think this is more complex for you than posters are saying.

It's a huge error and massively unreasonable to use a child's picture without consent.

Provided consent is given I imagine most parents I know IRL would be flattered by this and agree without payment...this is a local club, not Gap Kids! And I think your judgement is a bit skewed by your profession so at face value I do think you're over-thinking.

BUT...and I really hope I'm not over-thinking or offending here as not my intention...I think where the point has been missed is that your child is in a minority group. There are ethical implications around this and I don't think you're unreasonable in this regard. Im reading it (I really hope correctly) that you feel your child is being 'used' for their ethnicity and I can understand you feel strongly about this.

The reality is they have either just picked him at random, or they've chosen him to try to demonstrate diversity at the club, or have made a clumsy and in appropriate assumption that as someone in a minority group you should automatically see this as a good thing. However, whilst you shouldn't have to explain the implication of this to them, judging by the thread responses it may take more explaining to the club for them to 'get it' (if you do want to take it further). Personally I wouldn't. But it's very easy for me to say that as someone who isn't in a minority group.