Families are being encouraged to put child safety first and hit ‘stop’ on oversharing as back-to-school time approaches.
Leading child protection organisation Act for Kids warns that the excitement of a new school year often prompts family members to post photos of children on social media – sometimes revealing far more information than they realise.
Images that include small details such as a child’s school uniform logo, age or first name can be used by online child sex offenders to build profiles and groom both children and their families.
Act for Kids Executive Director Tom McIntyre said the risks have intensified with the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence, which can be used to manipulate innocent images into illegal child abuse material.
“The moment an image is shared publicly online, it is no longer within your control and you may never know where it ends up or who has access to it,” Mr McIntyre said.
“That’s why Act for Kids is encouraging families to snap the photo, save the memory and skip the overshare this back-to-school season,” Mr McIntyre said.
“Children’s safety should always come first, and parents and carers can play a positive role by modelling safe online habits at home.”