If you share an embarrassing picture of your kids on Facebook, you might get sued. An 18-year old woman in Austria is suing her parents, saying they posted more than 500 images of her without her consent. Dad says he took the pictures so he has the rights.  The daughter disagrees. It's not just an isolated incident.  There's a growing movement about pictures of children online that may lead to significant changes.

"They knew no shame and no limit — and didn’t care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot — every stage was photographed and then made public” – Unidentified woman suing her parents over posting Facebook pictures to a newspaper in Austria

The daughter wants the photos removed and some money.  Her lawyer says she has a good chance of winning. It’s not just Austria.  France police have asked parents to stop posting pictures of their children on-line.   Kids have the right to sue there.  Parents could face fines or even jail time for breach of privacy.

iRights

There’s a growing movement, mainly in Europe right now, about what’s being called “iRights.”  iRights means that you have the right to control information about you that’s posted on-line.  In other words, if someone posts a picture of you on-line and you don’t like it, you should have the right to get it off-line. In this case, they are focused on minors. Children (under 18) would have the rights to have photos or information that is damaging to their reputation deleted.

"iRights gives a unique insight into how government can join with technology companies, civil society and business to make a better digital world for young people." - Joanna Shields, former managing director of Google in Europe, in The Telegraph

Advocates are asking for a “delete button” that lets those under 18 request information be removed from websites. According to The Telegraph, the plan has the support of Microsoft and Mozilla. The European Union is working on a proposal now that would let adults remove any images or text posted about them when they were under 18. Facebook is considering a notification system for parents who post pictures of their children without restricting privacy settings.

Most people reading this will be, in one way at least, lucky enough to have grown up before the internet became ubiquitous.  But for young people today, much of their daily lives is now documented, published globally and archived in perpetuity. Their youthful indiscretions are shared on Facebook, pictured on Instragram and debated on Twitter.

A new movement has been formed to seek to protect young people from their online persona later in life.  Called iRights, it called for children and young people to be able to:

Technology

UK rights group: Children 'should be able to delete online images'

The right to delete embarrassing and sometimes incriminating posts from the internet will allow children to become adults without their childhood leaving a permanent mark on the web. It would also mean that they could take responsibility, as adults, by deciding to remove any regrettable data. Launching the new iRights framework aimed at working towards better protection for young people online, its founder and crossbench peer Baroness Beeban Kidron said that those under 18 should be given the right to mature freely. A series of rights for under-18s have been proposed in order to ensure that they are able simply request the removal of any unwanted content.

If children of today and tomorrow are to grow up digitally, we need to be sure that the rights to protection and empowerment that they enjoy in their lives, are embedded in the new digital world they inhabit.

Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield

The iRights plan, headed by Baroness Joanna Shields, the former managing director of Google in Europe, wants websites to feature a delete button to enable youngsters to request information posted online be removed. It also wants children to have the right to know, the right to safety and support, the right to informed and conscious choices, and the right to digital literacy. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook allow users to delete their own posts, but images can still appear in search engines. Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, further announced that she was launching a task force, Growing Up Digital, dedicated to improving the online lives of young people through the iRights framework.

iRights gives a unique insight into how government can join with technology companies, civil society and business to make a better digital world for young people.

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