French Parents Warned Their Children Could Sue Them for Facebook Use

French parents are being warned to stop posting pictures of children on social networks in case their offspring later sue them for breaching their right to privacy or jeopardising their security.

France's privacy laws mean parents could face penalties as severe as a year in prison and a fine of €45,000 (£35,000) if convicted of publicising intimate details of the private lives of others — including their children – without their consent.

Eric Delcroix, an expert on internet law and ethics, said: “In a few years, children could easily take their parents to court for publishing photos of them when they were younger.”

It's argued that parents should think about how their children will later feel about the images of them as infants and adolescents being posted.

The French police recently renewed warnings about the danger of paedophiles targeting children after seeing family photographs online. Some parents have been forced to remove naked pictures of babies or young children from social networks.

Facebook are even looking at possibly setting up a system to notify parents who put up photos of children online without restricting their privacy settings.