Publishing of photos and videos involving children must be carried out  in the "best interest" of the child and on the principle of "do no harm" - Ombudsman

ArmInfo. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia calls to refrain from preparation, publication and distribution of materials involving children. 

As noted by the Human Rights Defender's Office, videos featuring children have been widely distributed on social networks recently, which has become an opportunity for individuals to target and bully the child.  "It should be noted that such videos constitute the disclosure of children?s personal information, making children more vulnerable and targeted", - the Human Rights Defender's message says. 

Based on  the results of monitoring by the Ombudsman's office, sometimes,  personal data is published without the knowledge and informed consent of children and their legal representatives, which is unacceptable and illegal. 

The Defender urges everyone to refrain from the preparation, publication and dissemination of such materials involving children stressing that the publication of photos and videos involving children should be carried out in the "best interest" of the child and according to the "Do no harm" principle.

She attaches great importance to ensuring the protection of children's rights, including safeguarding their personal data.  "When publishing their personal data, posting it on information and communication networks or otherwise making personal data available to another person, it is necessary to strictly comply with the requirements of international and domestic legislation for making personal data available to third parties"

The Defender once again emphasizes that it is necessary to take effective steps to exclude cases of violation of children's rights in the field of personal data protection, to carry out public awareness campaigns and trainings on the protection of personal data of everyone, and especially of children," the report says.