Attention, parents! A powerful ad campaign by Deutsche Telekom is spreading like wildfire, shedding light on the alarming consequences of sharing photos and videos of children on social media.
This thought-provoking campaign, viewed over 5.5 million times in just one day, exposes the ease with which artificial intelligence can manipulate and exploit a child’s image.
Take the story of Ella, a nine-year-old girl. Like many parents, Ella’s mom and dad often share snapshots of her on social media without considering the potential long-term ramifications.
In the ad, an AI-powered deepfake version of an adult Ella is created using a single photo shared online.
Astonishingly, this digital impersonator looks lifelike and confronts her unsuspecting parents at the cinema to reveal the devastating consequences of their “sharenting” practices.
The chilling ad educates viewers about the frightening risks that children face when their photos are freely available online.
Activities like identity theft, deepfake scams, and even child pornography prey on unsuspecting victims, worsened by the prevalence of “sharenting.” Studies project that by 2030, nearly two-thirds of youth identity fraud cases will be linked to this phenomenon.
Research also uncovers a startling fact: the average five-year-old child’s photo has been uploaded without their consent a staggering 1,500 times by their parents.
This indicates a widespread lack of awareness about the potential dangers hidden behind well-intentioned “sharenting” habits.
In recent news, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stirred controversy on Instagram by posting a family portrait.
Interestingly, he shielded the faces of his older kids with emojis, hinting at his recognition that their facial features are mature enough to be identifiable by strangers and facial recognition software.
