A child's beach photo can end up on a child porn site within seconds, experts warn

A photograph of a child taken by parents at the beach or by the pool while on holiday can end up on child pornography servers in just a few seconds. This warning comes from Kateřina Vokrouhlíková of the Czech Stop-Online hotline, which handles reports of material related to the online exploitation of children.

The hotline is run jointly with the Czech police by the CZ.NIC association, which is part of INHOPE, an international network uniting similar services around the world.

What is "sharenting"

The phenomenon in which parents or grandparents post photos, videos and other personal information about children online has been dubbed "sharenting" (a blend of "share" and "parenting"). According to the crime prevention programme run by the Czech Ministry of the Interior, this specifically refers to such content being published in the open, publicly accessible parts of the internet.

Asked how likely it is that a child's holiday photo could end up being misused by criminals, Vokrouhlíková didn't mince words: "It's practically a hundred percent chance — 99.9 percent." She noted that photo-album websites, which parents use to create albums and then send to relatives, are especially popular in Czechia. Most of these albums are created without any password protection, meaning literally anyone can view them.

"Photos from such sites are usually stolen and reposted elsewhere within seconds," the expert stressed.

Social media is safer, but not foolproof

Major social networks fare somewhat better. Meta, for instance — the company behind Instagram and Facebook — bans uploads of photos showing children unclothed. If such a photo does slip through moderation, the system flags the violation to the user and demands its removal.

According to research by Palacký University in Olomouc, up to 69% of Czech parents engaged in sharenting in 2022, often without even realising the danger it poses to their children. By comparison, the European average at the time stood at 70–80%.

The riskiest images are those showing a child partially or fully undressed and easily identifiable. "Photos of children can still be sent to relatives privately — albums can be protected with a password. That way, only the people they're meant for can access them, and the pictures won't end up publicly available," Vokrouhlíková advised. She also warned about the dangers of group photos from children's parties, which often feature classmates and friends — frequently without their parents' knowledge or consent.

Documents pose risks too

The expert pointed to another, less obvious threat: birth certificates and school report cards, which can reveal a child's personal data.

Police statistics show that the number of cases where an offender attempts to physically approach a child has been declining in recent years. However, the number of cases where criminals operate purely in the digital space, using various tools to conceal their identity, is on the rise.

Most often, an offender first makes contact with a child on an open platform, then tries to move the conversation to a platform with encrypted messaging. There, they attempt to extract further personal information or intimate photos and videos.

Read also: 8 best swimming spots near Prague: lakes, quarries and beaches within an hour's drive of the capital

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz