Social networks are growing, a lot, and they are doing so in a climate of relatively real anonymity, but also relatively problematic. I explain myself: a few years ago the internet was slow, so slow, that the only way to communicate was through e-mails and through the chats. Through the mail we talked with people we knew and through chat we talked with strangers. The anonymity of a nick It made us be able to say anything, even if it was a lie, and so many people created fictional characters, alter egos or showed themselves, explaining only what interested.
Now, however, social networks allow that in addition to text we can upload photos and videos, even of our children, losing part of the anonymity, but with the same feeling that what we hang there can affect us in our private life. These days we have already talked about the image of minors in the networks and we have asked you a question about it, but we needed to know the opinion of a professional and that is why we have talked with Carlos Igual, Captain of the Civil Guard of the Group of Crimes Against Minors belonging to the Technical Unit of Judicial Police, who has told us, among other things, that "Pedophiles use data from social media profiles to contact children".
It is very common in blogs and social networks to publish photos of babies and children, is there any violation of the child's rights?
Since children under 14 cannot give their consent to publish their personal data or their images, it is up to their parents, guardians or those exercising parental authority to give their consent. Therefore, as long as these images can be considered as “family photographs”, they can be shared with other people on social networks, but taking care that access to them is restricted to known, non-public people. However, there are services on the Internet such as Flickr, where photographs can be shared with much greater control over who can access them.
It is usually recommended not to do it for the misuse that can be made of the photos by pedophiles or other people but we do not know what the scope of the danger may be, could you tell us?
Indeed, it is a fact that we usually see in our investigations that usually pedophiles get both images and information from minors on social networks, and especially dangerous, and unfortunately very common, is that in the social profiles, both of parents and children, in addition to the images of our children, sensitive information such as their school, their birthday, the locality where they reside or the places where they usually go, etc. All this places them in a particularly vulnerable situation.
Perhaps he is exaggerating, but there are those who come to explain that through the photos someone could infatuate with a child to the point of inquiring to get his address, the school he goes to, etc. Are there cases in which something similar happened?
It is not an exaggeration, unfortunately this we have seen it in many cases, in the profiles that minors create in social networks, and increasingly at younger ages, and even created by parents so that their children communicate with their friends. In these profiles, children usually publish a multitude of photographs and personal data, such as their address, telephone, email, as well as information about their activities, where they were on the weekend, what they do in their free time and what their hobbies are. All this is used by pedophiles to contact the minors and get their trust.
Do parents themselves create profiles for their children? How old would we be talking about?
Children under 14 cannot create a profile on a social network, and this Tuenti controls it and closes every month hundreds of accounts of children under 14, but in the talks we give in schools to parents and elementary students ( up to 12 years), about safe use of the internet, they tell us that as all friends have an account in Tuenti, parents, so that their child does not stay “isolated” from their group of friends, they create a profile. And this would not be a serious problem if they supervised the use that their children of the account, but generally it is not so and the children, smaller and smaller, are exposed to an unwanted contact.
Many people avoid hanging photos of their children because of the "what will happen in a few years", when the child has a circle of friends, perhaps try to find work and a search by name can give images that one would not want to expose, can you be a strong reason not to upload images?
As I said before, provided that the photos that are shared on a social network are photos without any content that may threaten the minor's honor, of the considered family photos, it does not have to undermine the image of the child, so we must be very cautious when selecting those photos that we are going to share.
The issue usually begins to worry especially when children are already 10-12 years old and have a profile on a social network and possibility to upload their own photos. To what extent can this be dangerous? How can parents face it, if we have to "fight" against the pressure of the group, of their friends, who may hang them without thinking about the possible consequences?
At first A child under 14 should not have a profile on a social network, without the supervision of their parents, since they cannot give their consent to publish their image or personal data, but unfortunately we see that it is not so and a high percentage of minors have profiles in social networks. In any case it is very important that parents clearly explain to the child the danger that when they publish a picture of themselves other people can manipulate or use it for purposes that they would not want. It is also very important that children are aware of the danger of sharing personal data that will allow a stranger to contact them.
They must also be taught that just as they have the right to have other people not publish photos of themselves (except their parents), they also have no right to publish photographs of other minors, without their parents' consent and especially if these images can be humiliating or offensive. .
In line with this, if we want our children to be careful about the exposure of their lives at teenage ages, it might be a good idea not to show them too much when they are young, right?
Internet and social networks is a very new phenomenon in our lives, who had a profile in a social network ten years ago? Parents are having a hard time adapting to these changes and teaching our children to use these tools in a way safe. I believe that with the passage of time parents will begin to use social networks more responsibly, protecting their privacy and that of their family, and teaching their children to act in the same way.
Finally, what are the main recommendations if parents also want to publish photos of their children? That is, if they decide not to expose so much situations of the child, but to upload some photos, it is recommended for example not to tag the child in social networks, is there any other recommendation you can offer us?
I think that many tips we have already discussed before, in summary, that the images are not offensive to the child, that your access is restricted to a certain number of people (family, friends, etc.), and of course not tag, since that means that the child has a profile in the social network.
We thank Carlos Igual, Captain of the Civil Guard, who has given us his time and has answered these questions. We are many, and I include myself, those who expose the image and data of our children online, reaching many more people than we would arrive if we only shared the information with our relatives.
I am one of those who think that if misuse is made, the one with one problem is the other, since whoever shows the photos of their children does it (usually always) with good faith and without intention to ridicule them. Now, as Carlos has commented, there is a risk, because it is not my image that they alter and it is not I who can run a certain danger, but my children, our children, who do not decide to show their image to anyone. So with this I pass the ball to your roof so you can spin it. I don't like to live in fear, but I don't like to risk who else I love. Where is the balance?
