- Mark Zuckerberg recently posted a family photo with two of his kids' faces covered with emojis.
- Tech experts say more parents need to follow in his footsteps to protect their childrens' privacy.
- Posting your kids on social media may even put them at risk for identity theft, one expert told CNN.
On July 4th, Mark Zuckerberg posted a family photo with an eye-catching feature: emojis covering two of his daughters' faces.
Presumably a step to protect their privacy, Zuckerberg isn't the only one thinking about how parents' use of social media can impact their children. Leah Plunkett — author of "Sharenthood" and an attorney whose work focuses on the privacy rights of children and families — told CNN she thinks more parents need to follow in Zuckerberg's footsteps.
"It's not just parents – grandparents, coaches, teachers and other trusted adults should also keep kids out of photos and videos to protect their privacy, safety, future and current opportunities, and their ability to figure out their own story about themselves and for themselves," Plunkett told CNN.
She says keeping kids' faces off social media is not only essential for their safety, but also for their sense of agency as they grow older.
Safety risks include exposing kids to potential identity theft and facial recognition technology, CNN reports.
Plunkett also said artificial intelligence can now use pictures of someone as an infant to identify them when they're older. Notably, Zuckerberg did not cover his infant daughter's face.
The rise of AI isn't the only reason to be wary — experts also say that other social media users may pose a danger.
"Posting images online is not risk-free," Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, told the Huffington Post in 2022. "It increases the chance of things like bullying and stalking or, although rare, even predators."
As a result, Plunkett told CNN she is calling on social media companies to take extra steps to protect kids when parents don't do so themselves, such as automatically blurring their faces in photos.