If you're addicted to adding snaps of your brood to your social media accounts, you may thank your lucky stars you don't live in France where parents could now face prosecution for publishing certain photographs online.
According to a report in The Independent, police and lawyers in France have issued a warning to parents of the potential lawsuits which could occur if their children see fit to bring legal action in the future over the past publishing of embarrassing or intimate childhood photographs.
While it may seen far-fetched, the notion is certainly not without merit, with Eric Delcroix, an internet law and ethics lawyer confirming: "In a few years, children could easily take their parents to court for publishing photos of them when they are younger."
Supporting the need to protect children against online predators and parents against potential lawsuits, social media giant, Facebook, is working in accordance with official campaigns to police the distribution of certain images by developing a notification system which reminds parents to activate the necessary privacy setting.
Commenting on the matter, Jay Parikh, who is a vice president of Facebook, said: "If I was putting online a photo of my kids playing in the park, and I accidentally shared it with everyone, the system could say: 'Hey, wait a minute, this is a picture of your children. Usually you only send them to members of your family. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Owing to France's incredibly strict privacy laws, the publication of certain images could result in a £35,000 fine or a 12-month custodial sentence.
