We’d all probably be lying if we said we haven’t once adored a celebrity child. We coo over pictures of Siri Cruise strolling through the park with Katie Holmes, dressed in something adorable. The problem is that, although celebrity parents knew what they were getting themselves into when they became famous (no privacy, that is — in the form of 24/7 Paparazzi harassment), their children are also harassed by photographers, not to mention subjected to the public eye and its scrutiny from the day they are born. These children’s friends often get dragged into the mess as well.
Taking a Stand Against Child Exploitation
There really are no laws against publishing photos of minors without parental consent, despite frustration from parents wishing friends and strangers would stop posting pictures of their kids online — celebrities or not. Many celebrities have taken action to strengthen laws protecting celebrity children or boycott publications that put children at risk.
Last September California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill aimed at keeping paparazzi away from the children of celebrities and public figures. Hollywood moms Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner testified on the bill’s behalf at a California legislative hearing, and Senate Bill 606 increased penalties for harassing children because of their parents’ jobs. Reporters and photographers covering news now could face penalties that have increased from six months to the new one-year maximum sentence in jail, and a new fine max increased from $1,000 to $10,000.
Tired of peeping Toms hiding in bushes and playgrounds terrorizing celebrity children — yet recognizing that there is little one can do about that First Amendment/ freedom-of-the-press thing — new parents Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell asked consumers in February to boycott media organizations that print photos of celebrities’ kids, targeting People mag specifically. Since then, ET and Just Jared have banned unauthorized paparazzi photos of celebrity children, while People claimed they made a similar change just before Shepard’s and Bell’s boycott plea. Recognizing that Paparazzi come with the territory of being famous, Shepard and Bell explain that their child didn’t choose that life, and therefore shouldn’t be traumatized by photogs every day.
Jess Cagle, editorial director at People, released the following statement:
Of course, we still run a lot of sanctioned photos – like exclusive baby pictures taken with the cooperation of celebrity parents, and photos of stars posing with their kids at events (like a red carpet) where they’re expecting and willing to be photographed. But we have no interest in running kids’ photos taken under duress. Of course, there may be rare exceptions based on the newsworthiness of photos. And there’s always the tough balancing act we face when dealing with stars who exploit their children one day, and complain about loss of privacy the next.
Take what you will from that statement, but the takeaway here is that there doesn’t seem to be any sort of legal requirement that a parent sign a waiver allowing their kids’ photos to allow in People.
And, indeed, it is hard to feel sympathy for celebrity parents like Prince William and Kate Middleton, who parade baby George around, posing for photos everywhere and waving to the cameras. Making rules about when photographers are allowed to follow a parade of celebrities around with their cameras could involve a lot of fine lines in determining when photogs can and can’t snap photos of famous stars’ kids.
People Are Posting Pictures of My Kids Online. What Can I Do?
It can be very frustrating to find unauthorized photos of your own children posted by others on Facebook or other places online, for a number of reasons. If people are reposting your photos, you may be able to take legal action to have them remove the photos, since you own the copyright to your own photos, although the cheaper route would be to ask Facebook to remove the photos. Facebook requires that when uploading a profile photo, the uploader must certify that they hold copyright or have other legal rights to the images in question. If the photos weren’t taken by you, it might be difficult to fight someone else posting them, depending on the circumstances. Unfortunately, online privacy is slipping through our fingers, although contacting an attorney is crucial in circumstances involving bullying or other circumstances that put your kids at risk.
