Poland plans to ban kindergartens from posting children's photos online

Those cute photos from the nativity play or the class trip? Polish kindergartens may soon have to stop posting them online. According to the daily newspaper DGP, new rules are on the way.

What is changing?

The planned ban would cover kindergartens, preschool classes in schools and other forms of preschool education. Staff, and anyone providing services to these places, would not be allowed to publicly share children's images.

That would apply even if parents give their consent. It would cover both websites and social media, including promotional material.

Why now?

Today, kindergartens and schools often post pictures from trips, performances and other events on their websites and social profiles. They use them to keep parents informed, but also to promote themselves. This is especially visible during enrolment season, when places compete for new children.

The new rules follow repeated appeals from experts. They have warned that photos freely available online can be misused by people with bad intentions.

What about schools?

According to the paper, there are no plans for a complete ban on photos in schools. In grades 1 to 3 of primary school, parents would have to give permission that states the purpose of the photo and where it may be published.

For older primary pupils and secondary school students, the rules are expected to be similar.

What's next?

The details are still based on the newspaper's findings, so the final shape of the rules may change. For now, the direction is clear: less children's imagery on public pages, and more say for parents.