STANDARD ACT OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY?
Not all acts of the parental responsibility have the same scope. Therefore, they are divided into usual acts, which can be performed by only one parent (the consent of the other parent being presumed), and non-usual acts, which require the agreement of both holders of the parental responsibility.
The question of whether or not only one parent can publish pictures of their child on social media is a matter of the minor's right to image.
The right to the image is a tool of the protection of private life and applies in the same way to everyone, whether the person in question is famous or not, minor or not, and concers all the distribution media.
Thus, the fact that a parent distributes a photograph of their child without the agreement of the other parent has been considered by the case law as contrary to the best interests of the child.
This is the reason why the consent of the legal representatives is required.
As an illustration, in a recent case where one of the parents published numerous photographs of the common child on their social networks, despite the express disagreement of the other parent, the Monegasque Judge ordered the parent to stop publishing any documents concerning the child without the authorization of the other parent and to delete all comments and photographs of the child already published on Instagram or any other social networks belonging to the other parent.
It was indeed considered as principle that the publication of pictures of a minor child (comments are also included) on social media is not a usual act, and therefore requires the agreement of both parents.
The judges have thus decided that the act of publishing photographs of one's children, whether on social media or via another medium, is a non-routine act requiring the agreement of both parents.
In the absence of an agreement of both parents, the victim of a breach of privacy can ask the court to act in their favour and claim damages for their harm.
This is a civil liability action that can be brought by the victim's legal representative, i.e., the parent of the minor, within a period of 5 years.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
