A few days ago, the singer Shakira was upset because her ex-partner Gerard Piqué robbed one of her children, Milan, without her knowledge, at an event on the internet and with adult content. The Colombian artist issued a letter through her communications office defending that she had not consented to the former soccer player for the nine-year-old boy to appear on a Twitch stream seen by thousands of people. Disgust aside, what legal ramifications could this disagreement between two parents about their children’s internet exposure have?
“The publication of images of a minor on social networks, understood as an exercise that affects his or her image rights, is a decision falling under parental authority. With a few exceptions, this is exercised jointly, so the decision must be made by both parents, regardless of the custody arrangement, or one with the consent of the other,” explains family lawyer Carmen Caro.
In this way, as part of the negotiation of a regulatory agreement, parents can, according to the lawyer, determine for themselves what happens with the publication of photos or the exposure of their children on the Internet: “And if we enter a contentious court case, parents can demand that the ban posting pictures and exposing their children on social media is set as an explicit measure.”
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But what if it wasn’t mirrored and one of you does? “Because this is an inadmissible interference of special protections and is not reflected in the divorce settlement agreement, an enforcement action for failure to comply with a sentence could not be brought in the family court, so the route used would be to go to a due process before a to go to the court of first instance and to file a lawsuit for violation of the honor, privacy and reputation of a minor under Organic Law 1/1982 and to demand precautionary measures so that the images that are published until now,” explains the expert on Family and Criminal Law Sofia Maraña. “Let’s not forget that the Supreme Court, in its judgment of June 30, 2015, made it illegal to upload a photo of a minor to networks without the consent of both parents.”
So what happens when there is a disagreement between the parents? “Parents must file a procedure under article 156 of the Civil Code for disagreements in the exercise of the same before the family judge. Children should always be heard if they have sufficient judgment or in any case are older than 12 years.” In this way, and as explained by the lawyer, the family judge will decide whether pictures of the minors can be taken from now on or not by giving one of the parents the authority to decide on the matter. “But I very much doubt that he would order the withdrawal of the images that have already been published if nothing is settled beforehand,” adds Maraña.
In addition, according to the Organic Law of 1/1982, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is entrusted with the task of actively ensuring that their rights to honor, privacy and self-image are respected while the children are minors, if they deem it appropriate It violates the rights of Children: “If this is so, the prosecutor must intervene, both by requesting the necessary precautionary measures so that the publication is removed from the social network, and by initiating the relevant actions before the civil courts, on behalf of the prosecutor minors, of their own Parents to obtain compensation for the infringement of their rights, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4.2 of the LOPM”.
When children come of age, can they sue their parents in court for trespassing on their honour? Maraña replies: “The son who has seen his private life exposed on social networks can file the corresponding lawsuit against his parents for violating the right to honor, privacy and self-image. In addition, applying article 197.7 of the same legal text, you can request that all published images be withdrawn and claim compensation for moral damage that such publications may have caused.
The Consequences of Sharing
In addition to all the legal frameworks associated with the publication or exposure of a child online without the consent of the other parent, this exposure can also have consequences for the minor’s mental health and family environment. “The fact that you regularly take your children with you on social networks is called sharing,” explains Manuel Antonio Fernández, better known as El Neuropediatra. “If fathers and mothers are to be aware of the consequences this may have for their own children, it is important that they know that these platforms have become a part of our lives in recent years and we see on many occasions how minors of all ages appear in them in photos, videos, stories, reels or other formats,” adds the expert in child neurology.
And it’s obvious, Fernández continues, that the vast majority of adults who post this content do so without malicious intent: “But it’s also true that they don’t usually stop to carefully analyze whether what they’re doing , could have consequences for their children or themselves, either in the present or in the future.
The Neuropediatrician summarizes in five psychological consequences that minors and the family environment can suffer.
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