Bad news for French parents: they will not be able to publish photos of their children

The special bill, backed by the government of President Macron, specifically targets the phenomena of parents earning likes, followers and even money by sharing their children.

More than half of French parents share photos of their children on social networks. Nine out of ten people post when their children are under five years old. According to a survey, the average child’s photo is shared 1,300 times on social media before the age of 13.

Bruno Studer MP said they were discussing the bill in response to complaints that parents exposed their young children and often subjected them to humiliation. On TikTok, Instagram and other platforms, some small French children have thousands of followers thanks to their parents.

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT COMFORTABLE ABOUT SHARING

Studer also claimed that the parents’ actions were then taken from social media by malicious people and used, adding that the images uploaded by the parents upset the youngsters.

The law aims to strengthen the privacy of minors. The bill’s preamble states that the child must be included in the decision to publish images of her according to her age and maturity.

Charlotte Caubel, the children’s minister, also supported the law: “We can suspend families from exercising their rights over children’s photographs if they grossly abuse them. For example; how to popularize your profile and earn money using your photos”.

Also, some of the bill’s supporters say the proposed law doesn’t go far enough.