To think that you shouldn't put naked pictures of your kids on Facebook

[coralpig]

I'm Facebook friends with a mother (we don't know each other in real life but our kids share an activity).
She has 3 kids of primary school age and has put up lots of photos of them completely nude with the way they are positioned obscuring their private parts. The children look really really smiley and relaxed in the photo and I think it's totally fine for them to enjoy being naked around each other. However I do think that it's massively inappropriate and quite unsafe to put these on Facebook. Mother in question has a private profile but hundreds of fb friends. What do you think? Is it my place to send her a message saying I think she should them down for the safety of the children? WWYD?

Sounds beautiful and that's her bottom not genitalia. We had a talk at school about how to keep our children safe online and the points I am raising regarding child footprint - photos - names - employment prospects etc was one of the points brought up by the person giving the talk. Im just feeding this info on. As for the child photos. I stand corrected. On further reflection, it is "indecent" images although this is a grey area. I was wanting to take a photo of my DD and her friend on a sleepover aged 5. It would have been really cute photo. Duvet had slipped down. Both asleep on their backs side by side, arms above their heads like babies and had t shirts and no knickers (DD always sleeps in knickers so they'd obviously decided to do the same). I really wanted to take a photo just to share with the mum then delete. Decided not to put the covers back over them and tip toed out. A few days later I googled - came up with the link previously posted above.

Jane - that wouldnt have been indecent just as my picture isn't. Unless you have them doing something inappropriate or focus on their genitals it's not indecent!

What's the position in law if someone has a huge collection of pictures of naked kids on his computer which were uploaded for innocent purposes but which he collected and enjoys for sexual purposes? Is he liable for prosecution for possession of child pornography? If so, presumably the parents are also so liable.

Also to those saying that there's nothing inherently sexual about children's bodies -- err there's nothing inherently sexual about anyone's body! All bodies might turn someone on and leave others cold.

There are people collecting fully clothed 'first day of school' type images from the Internet to share and comment on inappropriately.

I don't use Facebook or post any images of my children on the Internet for this reason. It is awful to see the images the press obviously gather from social media when there is any tragedy to supplement the article too.

Unless you have them doing something inappropriate or focus on their genitals it's not indecent!

Says common sense. But unless you are a member of a jury, a magistrate or a District Judge... that's not for you to decide, legally.

The picture of your daughter sounds beautiful, by the way. I have something similar of one of my sons, caught in a field of wildflowers, with liquid morning light streaming over his body. Although the fact that he is wearing welly boots and an oversized cowboy hat gives it an added... something.

Actually, a good friend is a magistrate. I'll ask her.

She's a magistrate. She might not be the first to put this legal argument to the test...

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COPINE_scale

If look on this link, you will see that it is illegal to collate images of other people's children in this country, even if they are clothed, if the scale and context indicates they have been collated for sexual purpose.

I've worked with and around sex offenders for the majority of my career. Those saying it does the child no harm for their image to be used by offenders, are wrong. If the child finds out, they have to live with not knowing who has seen the image, when, what they've done with it. Wondering if someone is looking at them oddly, because they have seen the image.
If the child doesn't find out, they may not be directly upset, but they've been degraded, defiled without their consent. That matters.

Then there's the question of whether using these images contributes to fantasy, and escalation towards contact offending (jury's out on that one).

For me, what it comes down to, is this. I've met these men. I know what they do. I don't want them wanking over my two year old while trading fantasies about torturing and killing him.

Say that's dramatic if you want, but I assure you I know what I'm talking abou.

There was a section on radio 4 about paedophiles raiding Facebook for pictures to trade on the dark web. Anyone that posts naked pictures of DC on line either very stupid or very naive.

I'm sure you do, wherethe. And of course it 'matters' if anyone - of any age - is 'degraded, defiled without their consent'; that doesn't mean that the person is 'harmed', in any sense but the most abstract, if it happens without their knowledge.

I accept that a picture of my child - clothed or otherwise - posted on the internet by me so that loved ones can share my joy and delight in a captured, innocent moment, might end up being wanked over by a paedophile, while he trades fantasies about torturing and killing him. I don't want that to happen, obviously. Not to my family, nor to anyone's. But at the same time, if it did, it wouldn't be my fault, nor my child's. And as always, I am not going to let the slight chance of becoming a victim limit behaviour that I see as acceptable.

Many things are a risk - but worth the upside - getting on a plane, drinking alcohol. For me, the downside of posting naked pics is not worth the (negligible) positives.

What about posting non-naked pictures, KERALA? Happy for those to be wanked over?

Not really, but posting naked pics is gratuitously daft IMO. I rarely post pics of mine, occasionally with their permission if something notable happens. Fully clothed. Actually am weaning myself off this ridiculous sharing Facebook look at me culture. Don't like it.

So you do take the risk occasionally, then?

Out of interest, what do you consider 'notable' enough to risk your children's image being used for pornographic purposes by a paedophile?

Its inappropriate for an 11 year old to be put online naked. Imagine if school mates saw it. Thats all you want, 11 or 12 year old boys seeing you naked

Ok imagine this....
Mum posts pics of dc naked online "ahhh arent they cute blah blah but don't worry you can't see any their "bits"

Next day....

Three year old takes snap of mum getting out of shower and posts it on fb "don't worry mum I made sure you couldn't see any of your bits"

Well, quite Sunny

It is taking advantage of your children's innocence and I think it's a really shitty thing to do. In no other contexts would it be seen as acceptable.

The likelihood of naked pictures of your [generic 'your'] children being found by a paedophile on FB, if your security settings are appropriate, is very small. The chance of them being seized by schoolyard bullies when they're a bit older is probably a bit higher. The chance of your children being mortified by their own mum sharing such photos is much higher.

But why take the risk? What detriment are you going to suffer by NOT uploading this type of photo? So you don't have anything to post on your newsfeed today? So you don't get a dozen or so likes? Is your life going to be devastated by posting a photo of your supper rather than your naked kids?

It is inappropriate, I have a friend that does this and they are awful unflattering photos anyway. I actually reported the photos once as it's not fair on the kids.

I can never understand the mindset (which I've seen a lot before on here) of 'who cares who sees your kids naked on the Internet, they don't know so it can't hurt them' or 'who cares if a pedo gets kicks off looking at your kids naked pictures'

Well .. Actually I would care. If i found out somebody was spying on me or sharing nudes of me on the Internet and getting kicks off it I wouldn't think 'well they can do what they like, it's not hurting me'. I would feel violated. I would feel the same if somebody had naked photos of my child.
My child's body is his, not mine, and it's not sexual, it's innocent. But in what way would it benefit him (or me) to have his naked pictures plastered over Facebook? It might embarrass him in years to come - I would rather not do that, just as I would rather no one did that to me.

I really think children should be taught that their bodies are theirs and nobody has rights over them - you are sending really fucked up messages if you're willing to take away that control over their privacy before they are even old enough to understand - and worse when they are old enough to understand and are not happy about it.

Totally agree Feck.

I feel that way pagestillnotfound. Maybe I just don't get fb? It's nice to see when friends have had a nice holiday or moved house or whatever but I've never thought 'oh so and so's had a baby......I hope they put some naked picture on". I've never put pictures of my kids on fb, no scans, no newborn, no nothing. I don't see what I've lost by not doing it. Friends have still seen pictures or my kids, just privately.

It is selfish and shows complete disregard and lack of respect for your children.