BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — As students across the Treasure Valley and Idaho start school this week, back-to-school photos are flooding social media — often paired with short updates meant to share a milestone with family and friends. But Idaho law enforcement warns that those posts put children at risk.
Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said there is no safe age to post a child online.
When asked what age is appropriate to post about a child online, he replied, “Over 18.”
Clifford said the risk remains even as posting children’s photos has become normalized and even with privacy settings enabled. He pointed to the scale of online sharing, including nearly five million Instagram posts using the hashtag “first day of school.”
He warned that a child’s image can be exploited and spread far beyond its original audience.
“That image can be used as a piece of csam and make its way around the world,” the sheriff said. “My suggestion is don’t put pictures of your little kid on the internet.”
A big reason for his hard line is that a picture or short video can help child predators figure out far more than what is meant to be shared.
“They can figure out a lot about your child, what school they go to, what time they go to school, they can probably figure out where you live,” he said. “It’s easier than you think to find out who people are. We do it all the time as law enforcement. We use [social media] to find suspects. But suspects can use it to find victims as well.”
This comes after the Idaho Crimes Against Children Unit noted the number of tips regarding child sexual abuse material in Idaho quadrupled, as well as arrests related to CSAM. The sheriff has asked Ada County commissioners to fund another specialized detective.
In Idaho, everyone is a mandatory reporter. Local law enforcement officers say they rely heavily on the community to make them aware of any possible child abuse or exploitation.
You can submit a tip through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cyber Tipline, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children task force or through your local police.
Both the NCMEC and ICAC websites offer age-appropriate resources to teach adults and children about internet safety and to identify and avoid child predators.
