3 Myths of photo consent creating fear

At EduTECH in Melbourne this week and many folks are asking me about consent.

Embedding best practices into the collection of image consent leads to a greater response from parents with better overall results. That is the finding from pixevety research into school photo consent practices around the globe. (But many schools continue to keep their blinkers on…)

Consent education curriculum must include photo consent 

As of late, there’s been lots of public discussion surrounding the topic of consent. In Australia, this has translated into consent education being mandated in all schools from 2023. The new national curriculum is focused on age-appropriate consent and respectful relationships.

Whilst this positive step forward involves consent in all its varied forms, consent regarding the use of personal media must not be forgotten. Situations where a child has been ridiculed, embarrassed or worse because a photo was shared without their permission are common. In fact, much more common than most expect. It is my belief that genuine consent education must touch on all areas of life – at all points where a decision has potential to influence an individual’s level of self-protection or risk.

Giving a person or organisation permission to share your personal information (e.g., photos) on a social media platform is a perfect example of this. This common practice can open someone up to major unforeseeable harm. Recent investigation into TikTok has exposed that data harvesting on the platform compromises the privacy of billions of users, a large proportion of which are children. This situation is alarming on all accounts, to the extent that security experts have labelled TikTok’s privacy standards as “fundamentally incompatible”  with Australian law.

The fact that publishing photos on global public channels like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, is an act of giving away your personal data to third-parties needs to be brought to the centre of public attention. Having no control over your data, can result in its unconsented use – undeniably, this carries great risk.

The 3 myths of photo consent

pixevety works with hundreds of schools around the globe, supporting them in improving their student photo consent practices. In doing so over the past 10 years, the following three myths surrounding photo consent arise frequently:

1. If we start to collect photo consent properly, we will lose access to great content. Why invest in doing the right thing if it’s going to restrain how you work? Well, it’s simply not true. This notion was the topic of a recent AFR article stating that the ‘plastic’ nature of privacy means it has varied meanings for different parties. It not only involves the protection of individuals, but at the other end of the spectrum when engrained into organisational practices it can effectively generate social and systemic benefit. In any organisation inaction creates risk and compromises integrity. This explains why our recent research found that the more open and honest a school is with parents on what they intend to do with a child’s photo, the more likely a parent is to trust the school in handling their child’s images. The benefits of transparent end-to end consent management is two-fold. Schools that manage this process well gain comfort and confidence knowing they are using content appropriately. Access to great content is certainly not lost. On average just 2% of students do not allow for their image to be published anywhere (internal, external, and social media).
2. If we give parents 3 tick boxes for photo consent, they will respond more favourably. When it comes to compliance, it’s not about simplifying the process, it’s about making sure you do the right thing – “by the book”. For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary, informed, specific, current, and given by a person with capacity. It must also be clear, transparent, accountable, and able to be acted upon. Three boxes labelled internal, external, and social media simply won’t cut it. For example, if a parent gives consent for their child’s photo to be used on the school’s website that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happy for that photo to be used in the school prospectus or on a school bus. You must inform them of who will be using this content and relying on this consent, and all purposes for which you are seeking consent– where possible, provide granular consent options for each separate processing type. We know that parents appreciate having choice and control over consent with overall 5% of parents deciding to make one or more consent settings stricter than the school’s.
3. If we hide photo consent in the enrolment form, we won’t have to worry about it again. This practice is called bundled consent and many schools and clubs mistakenly believe the collection of photo consent from parents before the child is enrolled is good practice. It is not. A simple question about photo use added to a 20-30 question enrolment form, and if you say no to this question, your child might not be able to enrol, is involuntary and coercive. This creates fear. What if my child misses out because I said no to Zuckerberg? This one-off consent approach is also intended to last for the entire time your child is at the school. Our own research has shown that when schools clearly communicate photo consent and provide access to a tool to manage their child’s consent, of the parents who enter consent, 4/5 chose not to alter their child's consent settings year on year. This highlights a simple fact that when you are respectful and collect consent properly, you not only build a stronger, more open, and respectful relationship with your community, you also build greater trust.

Why is there fear behind handling photo consent?

My belief is that many schools and child-centric organisations still fear the proper collection of photo consent as they see it as restricting their access to content. But what right do these organisations have to use this content for any purpose they like without consent in the first place?

Some appear to not care and hope they can continue to get away with it. Others just don’t know how to make change happen (“it’s just too hard basket!”).

With consent education in all its forms now becoming a critical part of everyday life, I don’t feel it’s safe for companies to continue to take such rocky paths anymore. Thank goodness!

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The level of popularity of these photo consent myths within schools and clubs has made it more difficult to break the cycle. It is hoped that a robust consent education program at schools that goes beyond sex education will finally breakdown these barriers to collecting valid consent.