Parents could face fines of €45,000 and jail-time for posting their babies’ photos on Facebook

Parents should think twice before posting their little one’s photos online.

This follows a warning from the French government which states that parents could face fines up to €45,000 (R775,214) and a year in prison for publishing intimate photos of their children on social media without permission.

A 2015 study published by Nominet found that parents in the UK posted nearly 200 photos of their children every year.

Given the relatively recent rise of social media, it is also not known what the psychological impact of having all of these photos in a public space will have on impressionable children.

“Your favourite picture of your child sitting on the potty for the first time may not be their favourite picture of themselves when they’re 13,” says author and child psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair.

Facebook and Twitter both allow for the reporting of images and on Facebook children under the age of 13 can have their pictures removed automatically by their parents.