The ministry said publishing photos and videos of children online can expose them to real harm, after a child protection group called Kids Alert urged a full ban on such material being shared by schools, preschools and care institutions in public social media channels.
In a statement cited by state news agency PAP, the ministry said it agreed that sharing children’s images online can lead to loss of control over the material, its reuse by others, hate and cyberbullying.
It added that in many cases, posting such content should be limited or abandoned altogether.
The ministry said schools and other institutions are already bound by existing laws protecting children’s images, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Poland’s Civil Code and copyright law.
It added that parental consent must be informed and voluntary.
The ministry also said the education minister would raise the issue with regional education superintendents, asking them to remind schools and care institutions in their areas about the rules, the need to follow the law, and the need for caution when publishing students’ images.
'Content that strips children of dignity'
The statement came after Kids Alert issued an appeal on Monday, saying the scale of the problem was growing.
“We are being flooded with reports,” said Kinga Szostko of Kids Alert. “In many cases, they concern content that strips children of dignity and the right to privacy.”
She said some of the reported materials showed children in situations arranged by adults in ways that raise serious concerns. The examples included photos of very young girls styled as adult women, with full makeup and poses associated with adult-themed photo shoots, published on the social media accounts of educational institutions.
Other reports involved material from classes on intimate hygiene, in which girls were shown presenting underwear items and sanitary pads to the camera, with their faces left visible, making them identifiable.
Kids Alert also pointed to photos from care institutions showing close physical contact between adults and small children, including kissing them on the mouth, which complainants said went beyond normal caregiving behavior.
In other cases, institutions published staged themed photo sessions, including scenes inspired by spa treatments, in which children acted out adult roles in settings that could be seen as inappropriate.
Kids Alert said the problem was systemic and stemmed in part from promotional pressure and the lack of clear rules.
The group also said it had received signals that some parents were being pressured when asked to consent to publication, and that children could be excluded from some activities if permission was withheld.
The organization has called for a total ban on educational and care institutions publishing children’s images in publicly accessible social media. It argues that children’s safety and privacy should not be subordinated to promotional goals.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl