Strangers who greet a girl, who congratulate her on her birthday or who wish her luck in her next match, and all this to the astonishment of her parents, is the shocking scene that the Irish Data Protection Commission has created to warn the population of the dangers of “sharenting”.

The campaign, worked together with the creative agency Core, exposes the risks of this practice, with which fathers and mothers regularly share information, photos and videos of their children on social networks and digital platforms. The ad is aimed at parents, and under the motto “Pause before you post”, it encourages them to consider the digital footprint they are leaving for the child.

The piece shows how Éabha’s parents have inadvertently “shared with the world” her name, age, date of birth, photos of her friends, the name and location of her soccer club, her training schedule, and even the fact that her father doesn’t always arrive on time to pick her up. It also shows how easy it is for images to end up in the wrong hands.

“Simply sharing children’s information, photos and videos online can lead to excessive and inadvertent disclosure of personal data, which, in the wrong hands, can have serious consequences.”; they explained in a statement. “Our Pause before you post awareness campaign is designed to show how these risks can manifest in real life.“.

The agency points out that there has been a deliberate intention to create a spot that would generate concern and mistrust: “There is nothing more dramatic than knowing that your child’s image and personal data are being exploited by strangers.“commented Mark Tuthill, Creative Director of Core, according to Famous Campaigns.

The campaign features media planning from Spark Foundry and includes film, television and social media activations. Additionally, the ad would have been dubbed into French for use by the French Data Protection Authority, expanding the cross-border reach of the message.