‘Sharenting’ and consent – UAE ruling on posting photos of children online
min readLast week, in a landmark judgment from the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, the parents in the case were ordered to ‘refrain entirely’ from ‘publishing photographs or personal data of their children on social media, and to delete all existing content relating to the children that harms their best interests’.
This ruling is timely considering the UK Government has today announced a ban on social media accounts for under 16s.
In private children law proceedings, disputes often arise concerning the overall arrangements for children and how they should spend their time - to more niche issues for the family such as: what clubs should the children attend, food and clothing issues and in certain cases, appearances/photos on social media.
There is a growing trend moving away from posting children on social media, but in this case the parents were ordered to ‘refrain from any activity that could harm the girls, endanger their psychological wellbeing or ‘prejudice their future prospects’. Whilst there are laws surrounding the use of social media in the UAE (and indeed the Wadeema law in the UAE, named after a tragic child abuse case, is a specific federal child protection law) this ruling sends a clear statement about ‘sharenting’ – parents sharing photos of their children online and how the court views the children’s privacy.
In this case the mother is a ‘high profile influencer’ but the ruling will have wider implications for all families in the UAE.
Whilst it has become somewhat normalised to post family photos and photos of children online (think birthday parties, school events and even general life), there is a clear move towards protecting children’s privacy. In this case the court clearly stated the impact it can have – on a child’s wellbeing and indeed their ‘future prospects’.
In the UK, especially with the ban of social media accounts announced this morning, we could see sharenting as a feature of more cases. If one parent is unhappy with the approach of the other parent, they can apply for a specific issue or prohibited steps order concerning this – i.e. an order prohibiting a parent from posting photos online.
It may be that (in appropriate cases) mediation is a better forum for this type of dispute, but in a world where social media is so entwined with our daily lives, parents should be aware of the need to agree an approach to social media to avoid a dispute.
The Abu Dhabi court found that both parents had ‘failed to adhere to proper conduct’ in raising the children (each having posted pictures of them online), and ordered each parent to refrain from any activity that could harm the girls, endanger their psychological wellbeing or ‘prejudice their future prospects’ – including the publication of photographs or personal data on social media.
