A shocking ad tells parents not to post pictures of their kids online.

So many people use social media every day these days. Deutsche Telekom’s shocking ad campaign has used this fact to start a serious talk about how sharing pictures and videos of kids online can be dangerous. A deepfake video called “A Message from Ella” is part of the promotion and has already been seen over 5.5 million times in just one day.1. This uncomfortable ad is a scary warning of the terrible things that can happen when parents share their kids’ pictures and videos without thinking about what might happen in the future.

How Sharing Can Go Wrong

The ad is about a made-up nine-year-old girl named Ella, whose parents post lots of pictures and videos of her on social media sites. With the help of cutting edge AI, a deepfake of an adult Ella can be made from just one picture her parents posted online. This deepfake Ella approaches her horrified parents while they are out on a date night at the movies and tells them what will happen because of what they did.

The goal of the effort is to bring attention to the deep meanings of “sharing.” Pictures of kids that are shared online can be changed to do bad things like identity theft, credit score fraud, and even child pornography. Some studies are shockingly suggesting that by 2030, sharing will be the cause of a lot of identity theft cases involving young people. Even though there are risks, a lot of parents still post pictures of their kids online without realizing the harm they could be doing.

Making people aware and getting them to act

Deutsche Telekom’s #ShareWithCare campaign wants to teach parents how important it is to keep their kids’ online photos and info safe.2 This moving movie has started a larger conversation about how to behave online responsibly and keep kids’ privacy safe.

The program does a good job of showing parents how important it is to be alert and gives useful advice on how to lower the risks of sharing.Three solutions are to be aware of how you take pictures, to use the privacy settings on social media sites to keep your accounts private, and to talk to your kids about internet safety. Parents can do a lot to protect their kids’ digital well-being by encouraging a culture of knowledge and responsibility. They can also protect their kids by teaching them to be self-aware.

How to Find Balance in the Digital Age

As AI keeps getting better, the risks of posting pictures of kids online also keep going up.4 The Deutsche Telekom ad is a great reminder of the risks that exist in the digital world and the need to take action to protect yourself from them. Parents can use the internet without worrying about their kids’ safety and innocence by finding a mix between being connected and having privacy.

Deutsche Telekom’s ad campaign was meant to be scary, but it should serve as a wake-up call for parents all over the world. Please be careful when you post pictures and movies of your kids online. Parents can protect their kids from the bad things that happen in the digital age by becoming more aware of them and taking smart steps.