Why Gigi Hadid is right to demand privacy for her child

I have an Instagram account for my two-year-old son that I share with my partner. On it, we post embarrassing pictures of my son wincing involuntarily from the cold as he tries ice cream for the first time, and videos of him wearing what can only be described as ridiculous outfits that he did not ask to wear and will probably resent us for later.

For us, what began as a fun way of sharing pictures of our son with friends and family has now become an important record of his young life, a way of remembering those precious moments I know that I will never print out from my phone, despite having one of those allegedly easy-to-use printers and a personalised photo album engraved with my son’s name. Because, really, who has the time to do that? For my son, though, as my partner and I often joke, it will be yet another thing we’ll have to thrash out in family therapy years down the line.

But on a serious note, what will he think when he realises that hundreds of pictures and videos of him have been shared online without his permission? Without a filter, no less! What would any child think?

A right to privacy

According to a recent UK government study, by the age of 13, most children have around 1,300 pictures and videos of them posted to social media sites by their parents without their permission. Then, of course, there are the children of public figures, whose images don’t just get posted online by their parents, but also by fan accounts and gossip sites, too. No longer shared in a somewhat controlled environment, these images have the potential to go viral, which is something model and new mother Gigi Hadid recently raised on her Twitter account in an open letter.

“To the paparazzi, press and beloved fan accounts: you know we have never intentionally shared our daughter’s face on social media,” she writes. “Our wish is that she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age and that she can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen. It would mean the world to us, as we take our daughter to see and explore NYC, and the world, if you would please, please, please blur her face out of the images, if and when she is caught on camera.”

Hadid raises an important point: to what extent is all this sharing violating our children’s privacy? In Hadid’s case, she not only wants to protect her and partner Zayn Malik’s daughter, Khai, from the potentially traumatising onslaught of paparazzi leaning over the stroller to get their shot, but also from the court of public opinion; from trolls and stalkers being able to easily identify and potentially harm her; from the pressures of fame at an early age, which, if you've been paying any attention to the troubling news about Britney Spears, can have devastating effects.

The dangers of sharing images of children

But there are other dangers too, and not just for children of celebrities. The main problem with sharing images of minors (to use a legal term) in the public domain is that you never know where they might end up, rendering them impossible to keep track of and ultimately remove. This, in turn, could potentially expose your child or children to identity fraud or even child abuse.

According to digital privacy expert Daniel Markuson of internet security firm NordVPN, “Studies estimate that, by 2030, most identity fraud cases will be connected to ‘sharenting’ because many parents share sensitive information about their children (such as full names, birth dates, and places) alongside photos. Meanwhile, reports of child abuse images online increased by 50 per cent during lockdown,” he says. “This can be explained by the increased time both kids and adults spend online, and that is why we need to pay special attention to the security of our children’s images on social media,” he adds.

It’s also why countries such as France and Germany have ruled that children should own the rights to their own images so nothing can be posted without their permission, and parents may face legal consequences if they do. But is that really the answer?

In these socially distanced times, when friends, family and relatives have been deprived of seeing their little loved ones in real life, sharing images of children has proved a lifeline for many. To remove this would be a real shame. So, how can we protect our children's privacy while still being able to enjoy sharing precious memories with those close to us?

According to Markuson, the first step would be to change your social media settings to private and to ask your friends to do the same or refrain from posting altogether. You should also turn off metadata and geotagging for your photos so that no one is able to determine your child’s location. These sound obvious, but I’ve often shared images of my son on my Instagram account without thinking.

Although tempting, another thing is to never share full names, dates of birth or the schools they attend—either use nicknames or get creative with captions. And no nude or semi-nude photos, which unfortunately means no cute bath pics or fun beach moments. If you must, use an emoji. Or better yet, print them out and stick them in the family photo album.

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