If your ex-partner posts photos of your child on social media without your agreement, you may need to seek a court order. Under the Children Act 1989, a parent can apply for a prohibited steps order to stop the other parent from taking a specific action, or a specific issue order to resolve a single disputed matter.
Court decides based on child's welfare
The court makes its decision based on the child's welfare, not on which parent feels more strongly. Teresa Davidson, Partner and Head of Family at Winston Solicitors, explained: "There is no automatic answer where one parent's view overrides the other's. If the two parents can't agree, it ultimately comes down to asking the court to make a decision on that specific issue."
Davidson emphasised that court should be a last resort: "That said, it should be the last resort rather than the first. Most disagreements of this nature are far better resolved between the two of you, or through solicitors or another form of non-court dispute resolution."
Children's views carry weight
As children get older, their own views about being posted online carry real weight. Davidson said: "The child is the third person in this conversation, and often the one nobody asks. As children get older, their own view about being posted online carries real weight, and asking them is frequently the quickest way out of a deadlock between two parents."
She also suggested considering long-term implications: "It's worth asking a slightly different question too, not just about how they feel about the photo today, but how they might feel about it still being out there in ten or twenty years, once they're old enough to have their own view on it."
Concerns about children's online privacy, including risks from AI-generated deepfakes and children's right to control their digital footprint, have made this issue more pressing. Some celebrities, such as Adele, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, and Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, have chosen to keep their children off social media entirely.
