It’s all 😊 and 😎 for Zuckerberg’s Children

Hmm... does he know something we don't?

Mark Zuckerberg NEVER shows the faces of his daughters on his social media posts. Why?

Huge irony alert ahead: 

It's to protect their privacy and identity.

The man responsible for a platform dedicated to revealing the intimate details of all our lives to the entire world has decided to, um, keep his children’s faces under wraps. 

Good for Mark! 

A wake up call for us. 

On the Fourth of July, the founder of Facebook posted this family photo:

The face of privacy - hidden in plain sight

In the role of dad, the Meta CEO deliberately shielded his daughters from the full exposure that an ordinary user’s kids might get on his platforms.

Unsurprisingly, social media erupted with the hypocrisy of it. 🧨🌋🔥

Nobody knows the danger better than Mark

Of course, there’s the security consideration for children of a father so famous, but Mr. Zuckerberg is also well aware of the facial recognition software Meta employs, the vast amounts of data Meta collects, and the ability of Meta’s AI to glean detailed inferences from a single photo much more hundreds.

Just last year, Meta agreed to pay Texas a $1.4 billion settlement after being sued by the Texas Attorney General for secretly using facial recognition software on users’ photos. The lawsuit claimed Meta collected Texans’ biometric data without their permission, violating state privacy laws.

Over and over again, Facebook has been accused - and punished - for profiting off the data of kids. 

Meanwhile, Meta has vacuumed up every public post from Facebook and Instagram - going all the way back to 2007 - to train its AI to, among other things, pull insights about you from your photos in order to better hone its advertising machine.

Would you want posts about your kids to succumb to that level of analysis and data collection for profit? Clearly Mark doesn’t. 

And we haven't even considered, yet, the permanent online trail we leave that can embarrass our child later or inform future profiling. This is serious stuff, folks. 

“If the people behind the software and platforms that monetize a person’s online activity and digital footprint think it is a good idea to obscure children’s faces,” says Jeremy Gray writing for PetaPixel, “that should tell everyone else something important.”

So what to do? Learn from Mark. When it comes to his platforms, he knows best. 

Or, better yet, keep your photos to your friends and family. Start a text thread on Signal instead.

What about Baby Zuck? 

Why is his adorable little girl's face visible? 

One answer: an infant’s appearance changes rapidly, but by toddlerhood, a child’s face is distinctive enough to be recognized by strangers and facial-recognition algorithms - a risk Zuckerberg clearly recognizes and doesn’t want to take. I certainly don't blame him. 

Beware of the Public Posts

Any public post, reel or story on Facebook, Instagram or Threads can be used for Meta AI's generative training. In addition, as of Augst 14, 2024, Meta provides “comprehensive access to the full public content archive from Facebook and Instagram” through Meta’s Content Library and Content Library API. Both the Library and the API provide “near real time public content” including “details about the content, such as the post owner.”

Want to know if your posts are public or not on Facebook? Find out on our membership site and join the Privacy Pup Pack.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Curious? Check out my references

Mark Zuckerberg shields daughters’ faces in Instagram post, sparking outrage Ariel Zilber, New York Post: July 6, 2023

Texas sues Meta, saying it misused facial recognition data Peter Granitz, NPR: February 15, 2002

Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users permission Dante Motley, The Texas Tribune: July 30, 2024

Meta fed its AI on almost everything you’ve posted publicly since 2007 Jess Weatherbed, The Verge: September 12, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg hides his kids faces online, should you? Jeremy Gray, PetaPixel: July 10, 2023

Why all parents should think twice before posting photos of their kids online Adam Bulger, Fatherly: June 30, 2023

Zuckerberg concealed his kids’ faces on Instagram - What should you do? WRAL TechWire, Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN: July 10, 2023

Disclaimer: The above is solely intended for informational purposes and in no way constitutes legal advice or specific recommendations.