TikTok Content Creator Pleads 'Stop Posting Your Children Publicly'

While many TikTok creators share their children in their photos and videos, others take a different approach.

There’s a clear divide, and the debate is going strong, about whether or not children should be in photos and videos that the public can see online for safety reasons. 

Many creators have shared videos pleading with parents to stop sharing their children's faces and information on social media for their safety.

One recently shared video by Chelsey Brown shows an example of a viral video featuring a child in a vulnerable situation and why she feels it shouldn’t have been shared.

After showing a clip of the video that more than 1 million people originally saw, Brown gave her opinion and then shared some information about what her company is now doing.

“So a few weeks ago, my company announced we would not be sending PR or gifts to anyone that posts their children’s faces publicly on their social platforms. And we had over 100 order cancellations from moms who are really angry about our company policy,” she explained. “So I saw this video yesterday and it filled me with such anger. That video has millions of views, millions of likes, 60,000 saves, and like 200,000 shares.”

Brown explained that “strangers” are saving that video and that should make a parent “uncomfortable.” 

She also brought up the fact that the child is “too young to consent to knowing that her video is saved to thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands of strangers’ devices.” 

Brown feels that more companies and brands should do something to get parents to stop putting their children on social media.

“What also really angers me is the fact that more brands and companies don’t do this. Like if parents aren’t willingly removing their kids' faces from their public social platforms then brands should use their platforms to incentivize,” she shared.

“Companies should be saying hey, we’re not going to work with any creators or any individuals that post your children’s faces publicly and that will incentivize parents to take these videos and photos down because that will be the only way that they’re able to get paid.” 

Brown went on to explain that her company “advocates for child safety.”  She wants everyone to understand that this should apply regardless of whether a creator has just a handful of followers or millions. 

“And if you want to think about it this way, I am 30 and when I was a kid, there was a huge issue with online predators. I used to use Neopets all the time, and I would talk to strangers all the time on that platform, and it got to a point where my parents had to block that website from my computer,” she explained. “And when you think about what a problem online predators were 20-something years ago, 30 years ago, it’s 100 times worse now because of AI, and there’s no way to stop AI.”

She further explained that when a predator gets access to a child’s face, regardless of whether it’s a completely innocent photo or video, the “things that they can do with that content is horrific because of AI.”

“And there is no way to stop it. Law enforcement can’t stop it,” she said. “The only way to really protect your children is by not posting them publicly.”

Brown has a lot of support from other TikTokers, and many left comments on her video.

“I LOVE that policy!!!!! That’s amazing!” one person wrote. Another added, “I'm so glad I wasn't alone in being mad at that.”

Another viewer shared, “No literally a while ago I posted a video of my son and it had like 2 saves and I DELETED IT right away.”

One other viewer shared what Brown’s videos have done for her.

“Thanks to your videos, I actually deleted the few videos I had of my baby girl on here. It wasn’t ever saved or anything but it was eye-opening,” she wrote.

Brown is not alone in this battle. Many other content creators have spoken out about keeping kids safe online. One creator, Sadie Golden, shared a video a few months ago talking about the same topic.

"If I see one more mother, one more mother who was supposed to be the protector of her child, post personal info about said child on the internet, I'm going to have a cow," she said in her video. "You are supposed to protect your child."

She went on to say, "Leave your small, innocent human in the protection of your home."

Her comments quickly filled up with people who completely agreed with her thoughts.

"My mom used to tell people about my personal issues and I felt so betrayed. I can’t imagine her broadcasting it to millions of strangers," one viewer shared in the comments.

Another person said, "I HATED IT when my mom would share my personal info with her friends. But the INTERNET is next level."

Many other content creators have shared videos that address the topic of parents keeping their kids off the internet for safety reasons.

TikTok account, @Envyyus, shared a video last year that talks about the dangers of posting your kids' photos and videos online because of predators. And it's about photos most parents wouldn't think could possibly pose any threats.

"I told a mom on here to stop posting her kids on public TikTok because of the predators and her reply was that she loved her kids and blocked me," one viewer of the video shared.

Another viewer wrote, "I once posted a video of my son then I'm scrolling and find it on someone's account."