Do you publish such photos on the Internet? You are in the government’s crosshairs

The problem was dealt with by the Parliamentary Committee for Children and Youth. The chairwoman of the committee, Monika Rosa, believes that children’s images are not sufficiently protected. Therefore, comprehensive regulations are necessary, which also deal with processed photos (so-called deefakes) and paid work of the youngest – reports praw.pl.

You no longer have to be an exceptional, talented computer scientist to simply alter the photo of every person or child in a sexual context. Not only in the form of photos, but also in the form of videos.

The Ministry of Justice announced the establishment of a special team that will deal with, among other things, deepfakes. However, Monika Rosa believes that another pressing problem is the protection of children’s image, which is not sufficient at the moment. Deputy Minister of Justice Sławomir Pałka commented on the matter.

We recognize that publishing a child’s image on the Internet without his or her informed consent and without taking into account his or her opinion may be a serious violation of both constitutional and conventional standards and the provisions of national family law.

He also added that in the case of extensive sharing, the court may even limit and, in extreme cases, terminate parental rights. However, the ministry is not only preparing changes to the law, but also to promote education to make people aware of how harmful publishing their children’s images on the Internet can be.

The government is already working on several regulations. One of the loudest topics is the so-called lex Kamilek. The amendment to the Act on Counteracting Threats of Sexual Crime and Protection of Minors is intended, among other things, to recognize the image of a minor as personal data, and therefore it will be protected under the GDPR.

During the meeting, attention was also paid to the phenomenon of schools and sports clubs publishing children’s images, as well as the argument raised by parents that it is their child and they have the right to decide how they will raise it.