Last month, a video clip of a kindergarten teacher teasing her student went viral. The teacher threatens to call the police, in a tone of feigned threat, after the boy punched a classmate. The boy, distressed and with a face full of tears, begged his friend for forgiveness while pleading with the teacher not to call police.
The clip so far has amassed 7.2 million views and almost 280,000 shares on Facebook. The comments, though sprinkled with some concern, mostly ranged from amusing to endearing. The man who posted the clip boasted that “if this isn’t funny, you can throw crap at my house”.
As the sharing of potentially embarrassing photos and videos of children has become commonplace, lawyers, child psychologists and other concerned individuals have expressed concern. Those who post these videos and images believe social media can strengthen a child’s identity and community spirit. But critics say the sharing of photos, videos or a child’s information online not only violates the child’s rights to privacy, but can affect them psychologically over time.
Lawyer Rhonarong Kawpech warned that posters of these images and videos also could face legal problems. Posting to his Facebook page “Tanai Koo Jai” (Trusted Lawyer), he says the act of sharing images or video clips of children could lead to a civil offence, punishable by six months in prison and a 60,000 baht fine.
According to Section 27 of the Child Protection Act of 2003: “It is forbidden for anyone to advertise or disseminate by means of the media or any other kind, information on a child or the child’s guardian with the intention of causing damage to the mind, reputation, prestige, or any other interests of the child, or seeking benefit for oneself or others in an unlawful manner.”
It’s the same law that the media are supposed to follow whenever publishing photos of children — no clear pictures of children’s faces in possibly compromising news items, for instance.
“There’s a reason why we have to protect children’s rights,” says Rhonarong. “Because children don’t know their own rights. Some people view that a kid has to be harmed first before proceeding to criminal proceedings, but this isn’t true. Even if the sharer didn’t intend to harm them, it should still be dealt with in the courtroom. Or at least [we should] dissuade the action. Or else when the kid is already harmed there’s nothing he can take back.” To parents who upload photos of their children for the public to see, he adds, it’s best to be careful as well.
“If a parent uploads photos and it causes harm in the development and growth of the child, they run the risk of committing a civil offence.”
This may sound conservative in an era where social media has a ubiquitous presence in the lives of families and children, but the potential for damage is real, experts warn.
Rhonarong’s legal concern is valid though there has yet to be a case in which a parent has been taken to court for posting clips of their children for the enjoyment of others.
The legal interpretation is debatable. According to LawPlus, a Thai law firm, posting pictures of children shouldn’t be considered a crime since the law states that a criminal act is defined by the intention to cause harm, which is not the case for most people posting photos of children.
Rhonarong, however, insists on protection rather than cure. “When they [the authorities] are not serious about it, people think that it’s just a funny thing — anyone can post whatever they want, even if doing so violates the child’s rights. The evolution of laws protecting children’s rights in Thailand is much slower, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have rights.”
According to a survey reported by the Wall Street Journal, a parent on average will post almost 1,000 photos of a child online before the child turns five.
But in France, experts warn that the strict privacy laws mean parents could be jailed for posting pictures of their children on social media and could be sued later by their offspring for breaching their rights. French police recently warned parents of the danger of paedophiles taking advantage of photographs available online. According to the Daily Telegraph, Facebook has been considering setting up a system to notify parents who put photographs of children online without restricting their privacy settings.
A similar warning has been issued in Australia and the US as social media continues to blur the line between the public and the personal throughout the world.
Dr Nanthakorn Eu-ahsunthornwattana, a paediatrician with Samitivej Children’s Hospital, recommends parents and adults consider the consequences before exposing any information of a child online. Children under six shouldn’t be using the internet at all, while children under 13 shouldn’t have a social media presence, she said.
“If parents are using the internet in the child’s place, then think thoroughly, think deeply, and think of the negative effects that could happen to your child in the future,” she says. Negative effects include the child’s loss of privacy, attracting the wrong people, and can cause distress, unease and bullying. Psychological damages are rife.
“Adults think that it’s funny, but it’s not funny for the kid,” she adds. “If you are in distress, instead of the person who you love the most coming to you to hug or care for you, they instead pick up a phone, take a video, and laugh at you, [and upload the file] without thinking how you feel. Would you be satisfied with that? Responding to a child’s negative emotions isn’t picking up a phone and recording them. The parents should instead be talking to them and responding to the child’s actions.”
Some parents go as far as setting up fan pages for their own children, either wanting to share how cute they are, or to lay a path for them to enter the entertainment industry. Doing this, says Dr Nanthakorn, can stunt a child’s social development and can effect them negatively as they mature.
Recently, former child actor Jino Schultz posted a stream-of-consciousness lamentation about how his life was nearly ruined by his fame. His case is a rare example of a person who believes his childhood experience was somehow compromised.
“In the incident like Jino’s, where his parents purposely share his privacy, I believe it could be seen as him being taken advantage of,” says Dr Nanthakorn. “You can see that once he’s a grown adult, he could fully voice his opinions and what happened to him as a child impacted him to such a degree.”
Dr Nanthakorn recommends adults refrain from posting online photos of any children. But since this is almost an impossible request, she believes in setting a limit.
“If you’re looking at another angle whereby the parents just see it as sharing moments with the people they love, set boundaries.” Social media account settings should be set in private while social media friends should only be people who you actually know and trust, she said.
“Parents tend to think that kids are their property, but in reality it’s not true,” she says. “You don’t own their lives. As a children’s doctor, I have to advocate and make people understand that children have their own rights, no matter what age they are.”
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.