The bill targets “sharers”, these parents who exploit their children’s image on networks

Are we exposing our children a little too much on social networks? For Renaissance Party MP Bruno Studer, the answer is yes. On January 19, the elected representative of Bas-Rhin and other members of the Renaissance Group introduced a bill to “guarantee the respect of children’s image rights” by further regulating their visibility on the Internet. A concern that should be “one of the great missions of parents in the 21st century and the age of social media,” he explained on January 27 on BFM TV.

The short film in the video shows the obsession of young people with social media

In his text, Bruno Studer states that, on average, a child “appears in 1,300 photos published online by the age of 13, on their own accounts, their parents’ or relatives’ accounts.” If this number varies according to the popularity of the main interested parties, then the phenomenon contains many risks, the deputy reminds. First, the dissemination of these images among child abusers, then harming their mental health. “Children’s Overexposure to Third-Party Judgments on the Internet, Race likes and other assessments can cause psychological problems, particularly in accepting one’s self and self-image. Cyberattacks find fertile ground there,” the bill, which will be considered in March, says.

“Sharing”

The text also calls attention to the phenomenon of “sharing”, a contraction of two terms: “sharing” (sharing) and “parenting” (parenting), which consists of parents posting content about their children on their accounts. The process was democratized with young influential parents in custody. A trend that constitutes “one of the main risks of invading the privacy of minors”. The text specifically mentions that, according to the report National Center for Missing and Exploited Children As of 2020, “50% of photos shared on child pornography forums (this year 2020, Ed.) was originally posted by parents on their social networks.

“Certain images, particularly photos of naked babies or young girls in gym clothes, are of particular interest to child abuse circles,” we read later. In addition, the deputies of the presidential majority indicate “the presence of humiliating or humiliating actions filmed by their parents”. As an example, it cheese challenge, which consists of throwing a piece of melted cheese at a child or pet. “The bearers of parental authority, and as such bearers of the child’s image rights, parents are both protectors and managers,” argues Bruno Studer. The MP also condemns the capitalization of some parents on the image of their child(ren) due to the “emergence of the influence economy”.

In addition, four out of ten teenagers (1) believe their parents expose them too much on the Internet, the text details. “A large body of consistent evidence gathered by associations shows the cognitive dissonance in which children are placed, often choosing not to be so valued by their parents.”

In the video, YouTuber Olympe, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, announces her assisted suicide.

The bill, if passed, would consist of “introducing the concept of privacy into the definition of parental authority” and specifying that the exercise of this right must be exercised jointly by both parents. The text continues the work that began two years ago with the 2020 “Child Influencers” Law. This was already intended to fill a legal gap related to “commercial exploitation of the image of children under the age of 16 on online platforms”.

(1) According to a survey conducted by Microsoft in 2019