[Mommy K]

My kids came home from school today with a letter to all parents from the principal. It said that some parents have started a facebook account a few months ago & it was just brought to her attention. It is not a school sponsered website-but they share photos of the children having activites with the grades listed sometimes and first names.

They also have the school's title and town in the account name-Proud Parents of --- school, and town. I am thinking that this is identifying info & I feel uncomfortable about this--the admininstrator's name was not included in the letter, so I have no idea who these people are. I think that as a parent of a child who attends this school I have a right to request my children's photo's not to be used.

The group is closed to new members-I tried to check it out. I don't want to make a big issue-but I am very uncomfortable with this. The principal made it clear in the letter that this site is not authorized, therefore passing off the responsibility. I have no idea how to approach this,as my son said that people can put whatever they want on facebook & he's right, but these children are minors.
What do you all think?
Thank you in advance.

[Devora]

I think that as a matter of respect you shouldn't post anyone's photo online or in a publication without their consent. I think that's doubly true for children. That said, when photos are taken in public places you have no control over them. I'm sure I'm in many people's vacation photos just like there are total strangers in the backgrounds of my photos. The problem is that social norms (much less law) have not caught up with internet technology and usage.

Personally, I would send a letter to the school expressing your concerns and asking that the school pass them on to the parents involved -- perhaps as a cover letter to the principal with an attached letter to the parents. I think you can frame both letters with a positive tone...."Thank you for notifying all parents of this. I appreciate that you recognize that this might be of concern to parents who were unaware of the site...." and to the parents give them the benefit of the doubt and they're more likely to listen to you..."I am confident that as concerned parents you have ensured that photos posted on the site are only of your own children and not of other children at the school whose parents have not given permission for their child's image to be made public on the internet. I appreciate it if you make sure there is a system so that any parents who post on your site continue to protect the privacy of other children."

I would also suggest that you find an FAQ sheet on internet safety and include it with the letters. Parents need to be educated on these issues. There's a decent chance that your state police have information online that is geared toward parents.

[cbmstephanie]

I would not want my children's photo's posted without my knowledge. I would send a letter stating my concerns, and make sure that my voice was heard. They can post all of the pictures of their children that they want, but they shouldn't post photo's of children who's parents haven't consented.
I wouldn't make too big of a deal about at it at first, but I would request membership in the group, so that I could monitor it. If I was denied membership...I would make a huge deal about it.

[amyfk]

Hi kathy

I read your letter and can understand your distress. I have a personal Facebook page and I have a 3 yr old and I dont really like to put up pics of her. I keep the site for my friends only, but you never know, in case the privacy settings dont' work etc. I really believe personally that photos of minors shouldnt be put online and I believe that nobody should have photos posted of them unless they give their permission(over 18).
I was personally wondering if there are any Internet privacy laws or are there any in the works? But I do understand where you are coming from.
Amy K, NJ

[Mommy K]

Thank you all for your advice..I am writing a letter and I am also going to see if I can join to see what is on there already. On the regular school website-we had the option of signing a release for our children's photo's to be included on it--but the principle said the release is not applicable to this site, as it is not official. So they can post whatever they want-I will be checking out internet saftey laws too.
What concerns me most is the identifying information-in my mind this is not very wise--and the kids on the site are being made vunerable.
I appreciate your posts & help!

[TerriBB]

I don't post my childrens pictures anywhere. I was told by someone with a federal agency that you should never post where others can freely see your kids! She was TOTALLY serious about it...thus, I know that I'll never get to see electronic pictures of her baby! It makes me nervous to upload them to snapfish!

Our school has a release form for your kids to appear in any newspaper article/publication. We signed the form, agreeing to let them be in the photographs. Flora was in the school Christmas card and we still got a phone call about using her likeness. AJ was in an ad for his school and I got a phone call/plus a written note. Neither of the kids were identified in either situation.

I would suggest that a school send home a note as a reminder that no children should be identified on the facebook/myspace sites. Many parents don't even think that creeps could be looking at the pages! They may just need educating on the subject.

[Slatond10]

I am very "green" when it comes to facebook. But there are a lot of Guat Parents from this forum that use it and I see TONS of pictures posted of their quat tots.... Was just wondering if someone w/ more facebook knowledge would share their thoughts.????

From the little experience I have, it appears no one can view my profile / photos unless I "accept" them as "friend"???

[ana-mom]

I have photos of the girls on facebook - for friends only and never tagged.

[TerriBB]

Read all of the FB security/access options.

The other day I saw went to my friends site and was able to look at HIS sisters pictures that she posted on HER site. It was really fun, because she was a little girl when we were in college.

That said, it bothered me that I was able to access them as a "friend of a friend".

I'm on FB with the moms from our grade school - I was able to see hundreds of first communion pictures of "friends of friends". It's easy to trust your friends, but I've got my college aged relatives as friends and they let anyone they invite anyone they meet at a bar as a friend!

[LRA]

Wow I can see why that letter would upset you. I have seen teacher's post pictures from their class parties or field trips and it made me cringe. I post my children but that is my choice, I don't post any friends or other relatives. I would call the school and discuss this with the principal, go in and have a face to face meeting it you have to. I would be very upset if my kids pictures were posted by someone else.

[angel_bayou]

Call the school and request a meeting!! No one should be allowed to place your children's photos on FB or anywhere else without asking permission first!!

[humanpitchpipe]

What about contacting Facebook? I would think that you could report the image. I don't know what their policy is. I don't think that the school can do much. It sounds to me like the parents are taking personal pictures and posting them to the site. The only thing that the school may be able to do is put in place a no camera policy that would forbid any pictures being taken at school events. The sad reality is that people don't realize that almost anyone can see what you put on the Internet - no matter how private you think the posting is. Every month I google my name and the names of my family members to see what comes up. So far, so good, but you never know what can happen.

[luv2teach2]

If it is started by someone at school, then legally they can not post students pictures without written consent from the parent.

[Quesita]

Wow. This is a very complex issues.

I do not have particular concerns about posting Liana's picture here, on my blog, or on facebook. I figure, by the time she is a teenager, the world will be very different and the privacy of our era will be a thing of the past.

That said, I NEVER post pictures of ANYONE without their permission. And I would NEVER post pictures of Liana's friends without their parents' permission.

The schools is right that they have no control over the group. Facebook has a life of its own, and anyone can start any kind of group they like, and name it anything they like, and post anything they like.

What is odd to me is that the group is closed, and that you cannot even join the group as a parent whose child's photos may be posted there. Of course, this also means that no one outside of the closed group can see the photos either. TerriBB's story about being able to see a friend's sister's pictures means that neither the friend nor the sister have any restrictions on their pictures. On my facbook account, only friends can see my photos.

Let us know how this works out.

[Devora]

If it is started by someone at school, then legally they can not post students pictures without written consent from the parent.

Only if by "someone at school" you mean an employee -- an employee posting pictures without parental consent would violate (likely) school consent policies. It's probably not illegal in terms of a violation of law (although may be in some states), but if it was a violation of school policies then it would be actionable as a civil case.

However, if it's parents taking photos at a public event then they can do anything they want with them -- just like when people take vacation photos they can post them online even if they don't know the people in the background.

I'm not saying it's right -- just that it's not against the law.