What is at stake when we post about our kids online?
Issue #44
If you had to guess, how many pictures of you are online? Hundreds? Thousands? Personally, I couldn’t even hazard a guess, but I suspect that it’s a lot. And, there’s a good chance that many of my digital likenesses have wound up in the hands of Clearview AI. That’s the company that has created a frightening facial recognition database by collecting photos from, well, basically everywhere on the internet. They’ve scraped photos from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google. And, according to Wired, they have “combined web-crawling techniques, advances in machine learning that have improved facial recognition, and a disregard for personal privacy to create a surprisingly powerful tool.” Most of their customers are law enforcement agencies, but Clearview AI has big plans to expand—aiming to serve governments and private companies as well.
Clearview AI has also told investors that they are on track to have 100 billion photos in their database within a year. They claim this is enough to make everyone in the world recognizable. Many major tech companies have pushed pause on facial recognition technology, citing the many privacy and ethical concerns that have not yet been worked out. Clearview AI is untroubled by these questions, and in fact, has taken the opportunity to forge ahead.
It’s a little dystopian for sure. But at the same time, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it. It’s not realistic to try and stop every image of your face from making its way online, and I don’t lose sleep worrying about what pictures of me may or may not end in the database. It doesn’t stop me from posing for photos at events or sharing my pictures online. But it is another reason to think twice when I want to post about my kids.
Sharenting is extremely common. We’ve become accustomed to sharing ourselves online, and kids are a huge part of our lives. We want to broadcast those adorable, proud and triumphant moments with our community. It’s a totally normal impulse. But, publishing images and information about your children online comes with risks—and not just from companies like Clearview AI.
I try to be careful when posting about my kids for a few reasons. First of all, I’m concerned for their safety. I don’t want to share sensitive information like their exact age, where they go to school, where we live or other personally identifiable information. Knowledge is power, and if a bad actor knows too much about my children, that could be dangerous. Secondly, I am careful with what I post because I want to respect their privacy. My children deserve to be kids, get messy, make mistakes and throw tantrums without the whole world knowing about it. And thirdly, I am careful with what I post because I have empathy for my kids. Have you ever had a friend post an unflattering picture of you without your consent? It feels violating. How would I like it if I learned that my parents had been sharing intimate moments from my life without me knowing?
To be clear, I do still post the odd picture of my kids, but I’m careful about where and how. I check in with my daughter before I share anything, which also helps me teach her about autonomy and consent. And when in doubt, I try to follow the best practices for posting about children online. These were drafted by Stacey B. Steinberg, a law professor at the University of Florida. She did a deep dive into the legal and ethical issues around sharenting, and here are her suggestions:
Avoid sharing content with geotags or location information
Avoid sharing images or videos that show your kid in any state of undress
Let older children veto images, quotes and other information they don’t want posted
Think through how a post could affect your kid’s wellbeing—today and in the future
Create family sharing guidelines with older children, and stick to the rules
Set up google alerts for your kid’s name to keep an eye on their online presence
When posting on social platforms, make sure you’re familiar and comfortable with the terms of service
It’s normal to be proud of your kids. We all want to share those meaningful memories and moments with our family and friends. And if we’re smart about it, I believe we can do that without compromising their safety, privacy or sense of self. I'm not here to shame anyone for showing their children online (after all my Twitter profile picture includes my daughter - I asked her permission), but I think it is important to be aware of some of the unintended consequences when we do.
A deeper dive
Here are a few helpful resources in case you want to really dig into today's topic:
Clearview AI has managed to amass so many photos because it takes advantage of grey areas in regulation and legislation. And, the company doesn’t seem to grapple with any of the moral implications. According to the Washington Post, “Clearview has built its database by taking images from social networks and other online sources without the consent of the websites or the people who were photographed. Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube have demanded the company stop taking photos from their sites and delete any that were previously taken. Clearview has argued its data collection is protected by the First Amendment.”
It’s not uncommon for kids today to have a digital footprint before they’re even born. In an effort to help parents keep their children as safe as possible, my team put together a Guide to Smart Sharenting, which has some additional helpful insights like the ones I shared above.
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
Meta has been under a microscope lately, with lawmakers and governments investigating how their platforms affect children’s wellbeing. And now, it looks like that scrutiny is aimed at TikTok as well. A group of state attorneys general is launching an investigation to “look into the harms such usage causes to young users and what TikTok knew about those harms. The investigation focuses, among other things, on the techniques utilized by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and frequency of engagement with the platform.” It’ll certainly be interesting to see if the momentum continues when it comes to keeping our kids safe online.
Do your kids love CoComelon? Do you ever wonder why? This unlikely programming features a round-headed baby and his family doing everyday things and singing earworm songs guaranteed to haunt your dreams. But it’s wildly popular among children: in fact, it was the second-most-streamed show online among new titles acquired in 2021, getting edged out only by Criminal Minds.
And lastly
Here are a few more pieces of original writing from me and my team—just in case you're keen for more:
YouTube Kids is meant to be a kid-friendly way to stream content—but it has faced a few safety issues in its time. My team put together a parent’s guide with everything you need to know to make the video streaming platform as safe as possible.
Since its launch in 2011, Minecraft has become one of the most popular online games for children around the world. Like any game with a multiplayer mode, Minecraft can pose some risks, so here’s what parents need to know to keep kids safe.
Okay, that's it from me until next time. If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know of another parent who would as well, please feel free to forward it along.