Photos of children on the Internet: what is still nice to share and what is already a legal problem?

Quick overview

Before you post a photo of your child, ask: is the child recognizable, is he or she in a sensitive situation, are school, residence or regular exercise information not visible, and would the child be okay with classmates seeing the photo in a few years? Photos of bathing, potty training, hospital, crying, underwear or humiliating situations do not belong on the internet at all. For older children, always ask their opinion. For schools and institutions, ask exactly where the photos will be used.

Why photos of children are a legal issue

Parents often see photographs of children as a natural part of family life. And to some extent, of course, they are. It’s not unusual to take a photo of a child at a party, send a photo to grandma, or create a private family album.

The problem starts the moment a family memory becomes public content. That is, when we upload a photo to an open profile, a public photo gallery, a school website, a social networking site, or post it to a group over which we no longer have control.

The Civil Code protects a person’s personality, including dignity, respect, honour, privacy and expressions of a personal nature. With regard to a person’s likeness, it states that capturing a person in such a way that he or she is identifiable from the image, and subsequently disseminating the likeness, is only possible with permission. The law also allows for the removal of the consequences of unlawful interference with personality.

The situation is more sensitive for children. Parents normally make decisions for the child in their capacity as legal representatives, but they cannot treat the child’s privacy arbitrarily. They must exercise their parental responsibility in accordance with the child’s interests and take into account the child’s opinion, according to age and maturity, in decisions affecting the child.

In other words, it is not enough to ask ‘do I like the picture? The right question is: ‘Can it harm the child today, a year from now or even ten years from now?’

When is a child’s photo personal information

A photograph of a child can be personal data if the child is identified or identifiable from it. Typically, it will be a photo where the child’s face is visible, or a picture accompanied by a name, school, residence, ring or other information. The OPC defines personal data as information about an identified or identifiable natural person.

As a practical example, a photo of a first grader in front of a school, showing the name of the school, a briefcase with the child’s name on it, and a caption reading “Our Honzik today for the first time in 1st B” reveals quite a lot about the child.

However, there are two levels to be distinguished in ordinary family sharing. The GDPR generally does not apply to the processing of personal data by an individual solely for personal or domestic activities. As an example, the DPOA cites, for example, a family pedigree for personal use. However, once the photos are published by a school, camp, sports club, company or influencer as part of a public presentation, the situation may already be different.

And even where the GDPR does not directly impact, there is still the protection of personality under the Civil Code. This is often more important for parental sharing than GDPR itself.

What risks parents often underestimate

The biggest risk is loss of control. You may delete a photo from your profile, but you don’t know who downloaded, forwarded, saved or took a screenshot in the meantime.

The second risk is a long digital trail. A child may have content about him or herself online that he or she has never posted and on which he or she has not been able to comment. At three years old, they are not defending themselves. At ten, he may start to mind. At thirteen, he may be ashamed of the same photo.

In practice, it is often mainly photos that adults find ‘cute’ but which the child may later find humiliating. Potty training, bathing, crying, illness, injury, cross-dressing, nudity or wannabe funny moments look different in a family chat than in a classroom full of teenagers.

Another risk is safety. Photos can reveal where a child lives, where he or she goes to school, where he or she trains, when the family is on vacation, or what his or her daily routine is.

And then there’s content abuse. Photos can be used for fake profiles, blackmail, cyberbullying or AI-assisted editing. For more sensitive images, such as in swimsuits or underwear, the risk is even higher. STOPonline allows you to report illegal or inappropriate content involving children, including child pornography, inappropriate child nudity, cyberbullying or revenge porn.

Child, parental and school consent

For young children, parents make the decision. But that doesn’t mean they can publish anything. They must consider the child’s best interests, their dignity and the impact on the future.

The older the child gets, the more they should be involved in the decision. For school children, it is appropriate to ask if they are comfortable with the publication of the photograph. Not formally, but actually. This teaches the child that they have the right to make decisions about their appearance and privacy.

The age limit of 15 is also legally important. According to Section 7 of Act No. 110/2019 Coll., on the processing of personal data, a child in the Czech Republic acquires the capacity to consent to the processing of personal data in connection with the offer of information society services directly upon reaching the age of 15. However, this does not mean that a 15-year-old automatically understands all the risks of the Internet.

In the case of schools, kindergartens, camps, clubs or sports clubs, we need to be more precise. Consent such as “I agree to my child being photographed” is too general if it is not clear where and how the photos will be used. Internal school documentation is one thing, school notice boards, the school website and social media are another.

For schools, the OOA distinguishes between situations where the photographs merely capture the course of a school event and situations where the school publishes the photographs with other information about the pupils or posts them on social networks. In order to publish photographs of children on social networks, the school has to obtain the consent of the legal representatives and inform them about the risks of further processing on these networks.

In practice, therefore, it is best if the school or club distinguishes consent separately, for example for:

• internal documentation,
• school chronicle or yearbook,
• a notice board in the building,
• the school website,
• social networks.

The parent then knows what he or she is actually giving consent for. And the school knows what the child can disclose and to what extent.

Practical rules for sharing photos

The family rule can be simple: what a child might one day perceive as embarrassing, humiliating or too intimate does not belong on the internet.

In particular, avoid photos of the child:

• naked or half-naked,
• in a swimsuit or underwear,
• on the potty or while doing hygiene,
• sick, injured or crying,
• in a humiliating or mocking situation,
• easily traceable to school, residence or regular place of exercise.

Watch out for labels too. The photo itself may be relatively neutral, but the caption will make it a security risk. It is not necessary to write the child’s full name, school name, grade, address, regular club or exact location.

Also distinguish between private and public sharing. Sending a few photos to grandparents in a secure family album is different than putting an album publicly on a social network. But even a private album isn’t a 100% guarantee – someone can download or forward a photo from there, too.

And one very practical rule: don’t share in real time. It’s safer to post photos from an airport, vacation, camping trip, or sporting event retroactively. Not when the child is in a particular place or when the family is away from home.

A parent posts a photo of a child with a new briefcase. The child is standing in front of the school, the name of the school is visible, the name tag is on the briefcase, and the class is listed in the caption. The photo itself looks innocent. But in reality, it reveals the child’s name, school, grade and regular place of movement. A safer option? Taking a photo of the child at home, without the name tag, without the school name, and sharing the photo only with a small circle of loved ones.

What to do once the photo is out

If you’re bothered by a photo of your child posted by someone else, act fast. First, get the evidence. Take screenshots, save the link, date, profile name and communication. Only then ask for removal. For common situations, start with a polite challenge to whoever posted the photo. It often helps to write clearly that you disagree with the posting of the child’s photo and request its removal.

If it’s a school, daycare, club or camp, contact the institution’s management and ask for their permission to post the photo. The OSC states that the school must follow up on requests to edit or remove published photographs and consider the applicant’s reasons.

On social media, also use the platform’s reporting mechanism. For inappropriate or illegal content involving children, STOPonline can be used. For blackmail, sexual abuse, threats or other serious conduct, contact the police.

Summary

Photos of children on the internet are not just a matter of taste. They are a matter of privacy, safety and respect for the child.

From a legal perspective, it is important that a child’s image is protected by the Civil Code. Parents make decisions for the child, but they must act in the child’s best interests. For older children, they should take their opinion seriously. For schools, nurseries, camps and clubs, it needs to be clearly addressed where and how photographs will be used, especially if they are to be published on the web or social media.

The best protection is prevention. Once a photo goes online, control over it is lost. Therefore, a simple rule applies: once a child might find a photo embarrassing, don’t post it.