Protecting Children’s Privacy Shields Them from Social Media Crime
Mena Ghali — Dubai
Experts and parents have warned of the dangers of posting photos and data of their children on social media, including their diaries and details of their lives, which could have dangerous consequences for their safety and future, stressing the potential to exploit photos and videos in crimes against children, such as fraud, fake voices, sexual abuse and kidnapping.
Sharjah's Children's Safety Director, Hanadi Yavafi, said that "when we publish children's photos and their personal data, we put their security in the hands of people we don't know, and we allow them to expose you to enormous potential risks", noting that "there are many studies that warn against using children's images in the most heinous crimes, the first being sexual abuse, with United Nations data reporting, for example, that about 80% of children in 25 countries are at risk of sexual assault and online exploitation. That's why we have to stop using our children in useless spectacles, and today is a very dangerous day".
She added to Emarat Al Youm: "When parents post pictures of their children online, they break the privacy and caution barrier, telling their children that it's okay to send pictures to strangers, and when these barriers are broken, children are exposed to all kinds of danger".
She went on to say, "There are a lot of crimes that children are subjected to, either by blackmailing them with composite images, or by falsifying facts to deceive them, and some of the crimes that have been recorded in the world have been done by concealing exploiters as children, after falsifying the voice and even the image, in order to assure the child that he is talking to someone his age, or by impersonating a parent to communicate with the child".
The young man encouraged his parents to instill a culture of rejection, and to say no to the child without embarrassment, if he felt he was at risk.
She stressed that "UAE law covers all forms of child protection from all forms of neglect, exploitation and abuse, and from all forms of physical or psychological violence", adding: "We in the UAE have achieved tremendous achievements in social security, including children, and we must work continuously to protect and develop our achievements".
Sharing children's photos
Cybersecurity expert Sami A Nour said that the behaviour of sharing children's photos and clips on social media does not respect the digital privacy of the child, protecting his or her personal rights, and threatens the child with social, humanitarian, psychological and digital risks arising from it.
He added to Emarat Al Youm that among the risks is identity theft, where vulnerable souls exploit children's images, and use them in certain campaigns, to create stories about a child and request donations, for example, a child's images may be used by an obsessed person, to use them, claiming that the images are for his children, and that they are his companions, for example, where he uses those images as a piece of his complex fantasy puzzle, which is his way of communicating with others, and the child's data may be used to create fake accounts. And spit through it at least.
He went on to say, "It's also about cyberbullying, which leads to the deployment of children's images on the dark web".
He added that one of the risks of posting children's pictures is cyberbullying, where some strange images, especially during school hours, are used to bully a child at school or on social media accounts.
He pointed out that among the risks is the ease of hacking, where some parents share their children's birthday data, details of their lives, their favorite team, favorite colors, their cute little pet name, and their favorite restaurant, explaining that these could be answers to secret questions about an email when it's created, or secret questions about personal identification with a telecommunications company or bank account.
He warned of the dangers of deepfake, saying: "With the collection of images and audio from clips, and with technology evolving in the future, it doesn't rule out the possibility that your children's voices may be falsified, and they might suddenly text you from WhatsApp, for example, while they're at school, or on a trip, and their phones are turned off, or they don't have a phone, and they ask you to pay money to buy a product".
He revealed that publishing a child's personal information could expose him to kidnapping or theft. Despite the security of the Arab world, in some countries kidnapping has become widespread, since thieves have memorized every move of parents and children, they have become aware of when children are alone at home.
Challenges and risks
The legal scholar, Dr. Mohsen al-Khabani, emphasized that "the UAE legislator understands the danger of posting children's photos and their personal information on social media, and has passed several laws and framework measures to protect children's privacy in the UAE. Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on the Child Rights Act (Wedema), which is one of the most important laws aimed at protecting children's rights, strengthening their safety and privacy, Article 5 of the same law states that "the child has the right to respect for his or her privacy in accordance with public order and morality, while respecting the rights and responsibilities of those under his or her care in accordance with the law".
He pointed out that these laws did not restrict the freedom of parents to photograph and publish pictures of their children, but came to surround the right to privacy with a fence of protection, preventing the risks that could affect the privacy of this data. Legislation in the UAE has decided to protect this right in several laws, including Law No. 36 of 2022 on Crimes and Penalties, and Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combating Rumours and Cybercrime, Federal Law No. 45 of 2021 on the protection of personal data.
Khabani stressed that these legislative efforts to protect privacy and the privacy of private or family life, which have decided to impose sanctions on those who exploit this privacy for unauthorized exploitation by law, are important in this regard, but must be made aware by parents in this regard.
Electronic blackmail .
Lawyer Moza Masoud said that posting children's images and content on social networks involves significant risks, such as exposing children to cyber-bullying, online bullying, and thus exposing them to psychological disorders that could negatively affect their personalities, as well as violating the child's privacy, causing him to complain and distress.
She explained that the Ministry of Education launched the "Child Protection Unit" initiative, with the aim of protecting the child from all types of abuse, neglect and exploitation in the surrounding environment, both at school and at home, and maintaining the physical, psychological and educational safety of students. The situation of child abuse can also be reported by calling the number allocated to the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Education 80085 or by calling the number of the Child Protection Center of the Ministry of Interior 116111. or submit the report by e-mail (CPU@moe.gov.ae), and attach documents and supporting documents to the report, if any.
It continued: "As the Ministry of Interior established the High Commission for Child Protection in 2009, and the Ministry of Interior Center for Child Protection in 2011 to take on the task of developing, implementing and regulating initiatives and procedures aimed at providing safety, security and protection for all children living in the UAE, or its visitors".
Moza Masouda said that the Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on the Rights of the Child, known as the "Wedema" law, emphasizes the child's right to life, survival and development, providing all necessary opportunities to facilitate this, and protecting him from all manifestations of neglect, exploitation, abuse, and any physical or psychological violence.
She continued: "The penalty for imprisonment, fine or both is anyone who has endangered the safety of the child, or used to leave him unattended or unattended, or who has not registered the child in school and registered him at birth. The law applies to all children up to age 18".
She stressed the importance of urging parents to monitor what their children post, to protect them from risks, to see video content or anything before posting, to make sure it is appropriate and not attracted to those who might exploit children and adolescents, and the importance of providing children with constant guidance on the quality of videos they can post without compromising their privacy.
Scenarios of e-fraud
Cybersecurity expert Sami A Nour spoke of the dangers of "fraud", explaining that "there are scenarios of fraud using their names, data and photos, but this is not just about fraud, it includes other digital crimes that could be committed and made up for children later in life".
He urged parents to live a digital personal life isolated from the world, without endangering children's lives, with some risks not coming today or tomorrow, but years from now, as a result of accumulation and consequences.
Exploitation of children's photos
The legal scholar, Dr. Mohsen al-Khabani, said that the publication of children's photos and diaries by parents entails a risk of compromising children's privacy, including the possibility of their identity being stolen through published information and images, and their use in scams by criminal gangs, and that there could also be a risk of using these photos and information for malicious purposes, such as exploitation and sexual harassment, or violence, threats and blackmail, and that children could also be subjected to cyberbullying. As a result of publishing their photos, diaries and personal attitudes.
Source: Emarat Al Youm