Legal aspects when sharing images on the Internet

Have you ever wondered the consequences that the content you publish on your social networks can have?

Currently, conflicts related to the publication or dissemination of certain content in digital media such as social networks, in which users feel completely free to express what they want at any time, are becoming more frequent. But freedom of expression has certain limits. The problem that can arise when uploading any type of content on the network is that we generally lose the “ability to decide” on said data or photograph. For example, the most common action: when we upload content to Facebook or Instagram , we are transferring our rights to exploit that content to the multinational.

At the same time, we must be aware that we as users cannot always use what is published on the Internet, whether it is content that we find on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube from other profiles or on other websites and forums.

Posting an image on a social network means that although other people can access said image, only the owner of the image will continue to have the right to prevent third parties from publishing it and may require the express consent of the owner to make use of her.

Publishing content without consent can not only violate a person’s image rights. There are other rights such as copyright, intellectual property rights, or even the right to protection of personal data, since the Internet is not considered a source accessible to the public.

SHARING PHOTOS OF MINORS

There is a lot of concern about the use that children and adolescents make of their own image on social networks. So much so, that this issue has been the subject of hundreds of studies and educational campaigns. But we must be especially careful when it comes to sharing data and/or images of minors, even if these are our own children.

And it is that on many occasions it is the parents themselves who spread images of their children without their consent, thus creating complex situations for minors, where their right to privacy and honor can be compromised.

Parents may think that as holders of parental authority they have the right to post the photos they consider of their children. In this sense, the question of what happens if one of the parents does not agree on the content that the other posts is recurrent?

When it comes to fundamental rights, the institution that ensures their protection is parental authority, not custody. That means both parents must agree. The existing relationship between the parents is not relevant, it does not matter if they are under the matrimonial regime, as a de facto couple, in separation or divorce. Both must agree to hang or not images and other content related to their minor children.

In addition, if a parent considers that the rights of their child, set forth in article 18 of the Spanish Constitution, are being violated, they may go to court to request that said content be removed by virtue of the provisions of article 156 of the Civil Code. .

For this reason, we must take the utmost precaution both when publishing our photos and those of a minor on the Internet, as well as when publishing content “copied” from different social networks and pages without explicit consent. In case of doubt, the best option will always be to contact experts in digital law who can help solve all your doubts and avoid legal problems.