The influencer founded a foundation promoting showing children on the web. UODO: This violates the child's right

The President of UODO informed on Friday that he asked the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy to take action to the “Children are with us” promoting Sharenting Foundation. In his opinion, the foundation, led by one of the Polish influencers, violates the right of children to protect personal data and privacy.

“The goals indicated in the Foundation's statute (” Children are with us ” – PAP) are contrary to the law as violating children's rights and freedoms, including the right to protect the image and privacy,” wrote the president of the Personal Data Protection Office Mirosław Wróblewski in a letter addressed to the head of MRPiPs Agnieszka Dziemianowicz -Bąk.

The President of UODO turned to the minister – whose competence should be supervised by the Foundation – to consider taking appropriate supervisory activities towards the Foundation and to make the Foundation to abandon the activity violating the right of children to protect their personal data and privacy.

“Publishing widely available photos of children carries a number of risks. These include: possible use of published photos for sexual purposes by converting them (editing) using AI tools, using photos for deepfakes and photomontages, or exposure to peer violence. As research indicates, almost half of the materials collected by pedophiles leaves.

In the opinion of the head of UODO It is particularly reprehensible to use the child's image to increase extent on social media And deriving the benefits of presenting a child so that as many internet users as possible enter the website promoting photos of children.

“Sharenting understood in this way deprives the child's privacy and agrees to his right to preserve the image before unauthorized access of third parties,” he assessed.

The President of UODO recalled in his letter the provisions indicating the child's right to privacy – including art. 47 of the Constitution, which to every Citizen of the Republic of Poland, regardless of age, guarantees the right to legal protection of private, family life, honor and good name and to decide about their personal life. He also reminded that in one of his judgments the Constitutional Tribunal stated that “persons responsible for the child were obliged to listen and to take into account the child's opinion.”

The “Children are with us” foundation was founded in July this year. It was founded by Aniela Woźniakowska, an influencer known as Lil Masti (formerly under the nickname Sexmasterka).

Informing their observers on the web about the Foundation, the influencer wrote: “We face movements that want to eliminate the image of children from the network. We support parents in decisions related to sharing.”

Sharenting (Share – to share and parenting – parenthood) is a publication by parents through social networks, information violating the child's privacy. Studies show that in Poland 40 percent Parents are shared on the internet with photos and films depicting children. However, according to the scientists from the University of Silesia, the actual scale of sharenting is – due to the complexity of this phenomenon – difficult to estimate.

Katarzyna Czarnecka (PAP)

KSC/ Mark/