A new bill proposed in France would prohibit parent influencers from broadcasting endless images and videos of their children online. The bill’s passage would give family court judges the authority to deny parents control over their children’s image.
An Act of Online Abuse
The law was introduced by Bruno Studer, a member of parliament for President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, in response to his worry over trends that see young children humiliated for laughter and “likes” on social media. Charlotte Caubel, junior minister for children, supports the law.
Sharenting is a type of online abuse, according to Thomas Rohmer of the Observatory for Parenthood and Digital Education. On social media platforms like Instagram and Tiktok, more than 50% of French parents have uploaded photos of their kids. Ninety percent of them are images and videos of young children under five.
Before the age of thirteen, the average child has their photos broadcast on social media 1,300 times.
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Parents Must be Mindful
Parents who upload their children’s pictures and videos online receive many views; some, like #mumtok, even reach billions. Through a new private member’s bill, the French government has the power to halt parents who post pictures of their kids online to garner followers and money.
According to clinical psychologist Dr. Marianne Trent, the French bill is “quite extreme,” but it depends on the information being aired, she adds. She has two kids and never uploads pictures of them online because she prefers that they make that option available in the future.
Dr. Marianne urges parents who decide to post pictures and videos of their kids online to make sure they’re always dressed appropriately. She said that it was done to safeguard the kids. It’s possible that the parent’s motivations for taking the picture differed from those of the viewers.
The rules of TikTok prohibit users under the age of 13 from creating an account.
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