Child being used in huge ad without consent

[Ferniefernfernfern]

Background: My child (early primary school age) plays a sport at the local club and recently, there was a photographer taking pictures of his tournament. The pictures inevitably cropped up on Facebook and Instagram. Usually we don't allow our children to appear on social media but decided to let it go, as the tournament was free and we didn't want to make a fuss.

However, one of the pictures of him has now been made into a 6 foot tall banner advertising the club. I had previously emailed them (about 3 months ago) letting them know my children's images cannot be used for commercial purposes. My kids are in the minority where we live, so I think their look makes them particularly marketable. I've had to ask for their pictures to be taken down by virtually every single school and activity they've ever participated in.

I've just followed up on my previous email suggesting that they remunerate my son in the form of covering his half-term camp costs (around £100).

AIBU? My background is in advertising/TV and I know how easy it is for businesses to exploit children's images without proper payment or consent, but maybe I'm overthinking it.

Is this a none profit club? Is it run by volunteers? Does anyone get paid?
If it is that makes a big difference to the answer
If its yes then yabu

Wow, so essentially you want to pimp out your kids to make money?

You are absolutely not being unreasonable. that’s outrageous . I don’t know what you can do and I’m glad people on here can advise you but I wouldn’t stop until it was resolved. It’s awful that companies and organisations think we’ll all be so delighted if our children have the ‘spotlight’ for a second like they’re doing them a favour and it’s a privilege to have your image used. It’s disgraceful OP.

I think they’ve broken the law if you’ve explicitly asked for photos not to be used, particularly of children. I agree you’ve made it tricky by asking for money, because you’ve sort of “okayed” it but only if money is involved. I’d have stuck with the line that you hadn’t given consent and outlined you could take legal action

No, complete opposite.

She said no to any use of their image for commercial
reasons. They used it anyway and she is trying to find a pragmatic way to redress the problem.

You might think, no harm done, I’ll let it slide, but she didn’t want to. You can choose a different path if it happens to you and your child, but don’t shame her for having boundaries.

She could, of course, insist the image comes down, sue for its unauthorised use and complain to the ICO who would take it very seriously and probably fine the company, which could face serious repercussions to its business for terrible safeguarding and image rights infringement.

Instead she has suggested a very simple and (imo) far too lenient recompense. A free place on the holiday club, worth £100 to her and costing the club much, much less.

The club is free to reject this suggestion and then she can decide her next steps.

She’s not pimping her child out for less than £100. That would be pathetic. You would get more than that for a photo shoot, let alone the additional fees for rights usage - she works in advertising so knows the value of images.

@verycloakanddaggers
By registering, the participants or their legal representatives declare that they agree to the publication of their names, clubs and year of birth, as well as the competition. The competitor or his/her legal representative declares his/her consent to the production and agree that image, sound and film recordings may be made, distributed and displayed during the competitions. This consent is granted free of charge, is unlimited in terms of time and space and applies to both the right to the image and the general right of personality. It includes all media, but in particular the right to reproduce recordings in print, TV programmes and on the Internet. It is possible, but not mandatory, that the competitor will be named.

She said she didn’t want the child’s photo used for commercial purposes.

Most sports clubs are non-profits. They are not commercial organisations and not using the child’s image for commercial purposes.

Goodness knows why the OP doesn’t just sign the standard GDPR form. Children’s organisations are shit-hot at conforming with GDPR, especially as there are often safeguarding issues involved. If she just signed the forms she wouldn’t have to ask schools or clubs to take down photographs as they wouldn’t be used. I imagine she just wants to leave the door open for making money herself.

If it’s a money thing YABU. I think your remedy in this situation was to ask for his image to be taken off the poster, or for the poster to be taken down, not to ask for cash.

I can understand not wanting your children's photos to be displayed on posters, or social media. Whether your reasons are related to safeguarding, privacy or your child just doesn't want it.

Similarly I can quite understand wanting some payment for the publicity.

But not both.

To my mind any safeguarding issues top trump payment.

YANBU - what if your child needed to be protected from someone? They would know exact where they would be and when.

I would ask for the image to be removed as a matter of principle. It’s very irresponsible of the club.

Do you want his image removed or payment? Don’t think you can have both!

This- Asking for money and calling your children “Marketable “ as they are rare (?!) in your area looks like you are just after money to be fair , rather than trying to protect their privacy.

Are these the tournament T&Cs?

1. the club cannot sign these on behalf of the children, so unless the OP signed them herself, they are not enforceable
2. even if the OP signed these, it would not give a third party (the club) permission to use any photos for their commercial exploitation
3. the email that explicitly stated that her child’s image could not be used for commercial use would supersede this

I think it's fine to ask them for money. You can't just take advertise a human being without paying for the photo.
Very out of order of them.

You lost me when you made it about money

That's a disgusting policy and invades privacy, nevermind it blocks children participating in events.

They’re out of order - as are you for trying to profit from something which may be making your child unhappy. But then you DO have a background in advertising……

It’s a safeguarding fail on their part. If a child was in foster care etc this would be a huge problem. I wouldn’t have asked for money but for them to be removed from the photo.

She also said this isn’t a non-profit, it’s a business.

Also, it doesn’t matter - charities can’t use images without permission either.

Advertising is considered a commercial use - doesn’t matter if the entity advertising is a volunteer organisation or a charity or whether the ad brings in any money or not.

Marketing / advertising is a commercial use.

You've fucked your own argument my asking for payment.

If it was just that you didn't want child's image used - then absolutely complain. I would feel the same.

Now you look like a chancer !

I think the only way you’re being unreasonable is that a summer camp worth £100 is far too little in terms of compensation. Should have asked for 10 times that.

It’s outrageous that they did not ask permission before using the image and poor form that they didn’t offer compensation straight off the bat.

SHE wants to get her hands on the money and not give it to her child!

Just like the advertisers also want to make money out of her CHILD.

The only person getting a raw deal here is the kid who won't see a penny of it.

Well, clearly not - she was explicit in saying her kid’s image couldn’t be used for commercial purposes and yet they blew it up into a giant poster.

Shit, not shit hot in this instance.

This- Asking for money and calling your children “Marketable “ as they are rare (?!) in your area looks like you are just after money to be fair , rather than trying to protect their privacy'

@Ferniefernfernfern
There are a lot of comments like this one above ("I had sympathy for you until you asked for money"/ "asking for money is paying for the consent") which show a lot of misunderstanding of the law.

It does not follow that asking for money (compensation for damage) is incompatible with wanting the use to stop. These are a basic legal principles:

1. if a legal wrong has occurred and is continuing, you are entitled in law to an order to stop it.
2. if a legal wrong has occurred, you are entitled to damages (money) to compensate you for the wrong that has occurred. This is not incompatible with the wish to stop whatever you are complaining about because it is compensation for the past damage that has occurred.

It's like this say someone starts selling tickets for a public meeting in your garden. People turn up and have a meeting in your garden - trespassing on your land. Happens next week. and the next week.

You are entitled to 1. an order to stop the organisers from doing this and to stop attendees trespassing and 2. damages - money - compensation for the trespass that has already occurred. Asking for money doesn't mean you consent or ever did. It is to compensate for the damage in the past.

lots of assumptions being made here with zero understanding of the situation or the law.

She isn’t even asking for money - she’s asked for a free place on the holiday camp - presumably that’s for the child, although maybe the OP is taking it herself?

@Ferniefernfernfern are you secretly taking the place yourself?