WHY IT MATTERS
Once a child’s photo or video is publicly available, copies can potentially be downloaded, captured, altered or redistributed without the family’s knowledge. In the worst cases, otherwise innocent material can be collected or manipulated for exploitative purposes.
1. WIDESPREAD DOWNLOADING
Publicly accessible photographs and videos can be copied, screen-recorded or downloaded.
2. RE-EDITING AND MANIPULATION
Images can be cropped, altered or manipulated into material the child or parent never intended.
3. EXPLOITATIVE COLLECTIONS
Innocent images can potentially be collected and exchanged within abusive communities.
4. FALSE FAMILIARITY
Someone who has watched large amounts of family content may know a child’s interests, relatives and experiences despite being a complete stranger.
5. DISTRIBUTION BEYOND THE ORIGINAL PLATFORM
Once copied elsewhere, material may spread far beyond the parent’s original account.
6. LONG-TERM PERMANENCE
Deleting the original upload cannot delete copies already made by other people.
7. INNOCENT CONTEXT CAN BE MISUSED
Ordinary childhood photographs can be interpreted or repurposed in ways the family never anticipated.
8. EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES
Discovering later that childhood images were misused could be extremely distressing.
9. UNWANTED ATTENTION
Extensive exposure can potentially make a child identifiable to people with inappropriate intentions.
10. LOSS OF CONTROL
Once someone else possesses the file, the family no longer controls what happens to it.
BOTTOM LINE
You control the decision to upload. You cannot completely control what happens to a child’s image afterwards.