Am I being a snow-flake?

9db3xj7z41fs5u

Tork wrote: »

I've heard of mums and dads being confronted by other parents just because they took photos of their own kids in playgrounds and play areas. I'm all for protecting children from predators but there is nothing inherently dodgy about children in their own right.

Other people's photos are the most uninteresting thing on the planet if you don't know anybody in them. If somebody else has ended up with your photos, what exactly do you think they'll do with them? I'd say they mostly would want a refund

I just don’t like not knowing who has those photos. They are a UK group. It may have gone to somebody in England. Most likely, they will not be sent to anybody with nefarious intent. Sadly, there is a very small but very sick minority of people.

The bottom line for me is that I don’t like losing control of my personal family pics (they are not on any form of social media).

I didn’t ask for the refund, as I am sure that they are sending me a new calendar.

Jimmy Bottlehead

OP, you asked "am I being a snowflake?" and when the overwhelming response has been "yes", you've argued with it.

Fine. You're entitled to react or overreact as you see fit, but you're wasting people's time asking a question you don't want an actual honest answer to, unless it suits your perception.

Tork

Why would sick people want clothed photos of kids? Serious question.

timetogo1

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

Childrens’ pictures (as distinct from adults’ pictures) are considered sensitive materials under GDPR. That is why the schools ask us fill in so much paperwork about using the kids’ images now

With your school you have photo + location.
With a random photo on a calendar how can that be used to identify or locate a child?

Barbara Fresh Vender

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

There were normal pictures of my family (some under 12) on the beach in their togs. I would just like clarification that these pictures have been sent back to the company, and this doesn’t happen again. I don’t know who now possesses the images.

I have sent back the calendar. I do not know who has my calendar

I just don’t want this to happen for other families

Do you have Facebook?

9db3xj7z41fs5u

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Do you have Facebook?

No. Nor do I have Twitter. You cannot find me on Google unless you know my specific affiliations

Augme

What do you care about being a snowflake. Either report them or move on.

Jequ0n

Bottom line is you don’t know and will never find out or get an answer, so why wreck your head?
What tells you that the people putting together the calendars are not having a particular interest in the pics you sent in?
Or if they sell them on, or trade....or if the connection you sent them by was secure?

You realise that you end down in a downward spiral if you let your mind jump to lots of worse case scenarios?

If you are so easily rattled then don’t use services like this again, mistakes can happen and you will never have total security

radiotrickster

I’d probably be called a snowflake myself, but I think you’re within your right to complain and want them to ensure you they’ll try stop it happening again. It’s just weird to think of someone else having the calendar with your photos, and it’s a GDPR breach so they should definitely take it more seriously.

Dee01

I think you're 100% right. There's no way I'd want my pictures out there with some randomers. And the fact they daud that everyone else just sends them back is mega worrying and had completely changed my mind about using these sites. How often does this happen like?!?!

SusieBlue

All they are obliged to do is acknowledge your complaint, they are under no obligation to change any of their policies or procedures just because you think they should, or prove they have done a risk assessment.
They don’t have to justify themselves at all to you.
They don’t have to disclose the results of whatever internal enquiry you are trying to force on them, if they even have one.
You aren’t entitled to make those kinds of demands on them.

By all means contact the Gardaí if you think any laws have been broken or any children or in imminent danger, besides that all you can do is voice your concerns and move on with your life.

It sounds more like a case of poor customer service than a child protection issue to me, though.

LegacyUser

A calendar is used hung on the wall, visible to those that pass by. Do you take the calendar off the wall and hide it if someone comes to visit?

What risk assessment are your demanding? What do you hope the outcome of the risk assessment will be?

Barbara Fresh Vender

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

I don’t know whether to tell my family about the incident. Since it is their children in the pictures, I think that they have a right to know. I basically gathered our family WhatsApp pics, and made them into a calendar because my loved-one has cognitive impairment, and I thought that this would put a smile on her face. Now I feel stupid and wish that I got her some nice chocolates instead

did you ask for your family's permission before gathering up images of their kids into this product? Did they consent to have a third party handle these pictures etc.

You can go down as many rabbit holes as you like on this, it's a pointless exercise though, imo.

I'm sure the calendar when you get it will be a lovely gift to your relation, it's a nice thing to have.

ManOfMystery

IMO it was a tad overzealous.

A clerical mistake due to human error is part and parcel of life. We aren't robots.

If we were dealing with a life & death situation such as an anaesthetist's error leading to the wrong presciption of drugs, of course they should be lambasted - but it wasn't a scenario like that. They sent out some photos of kids - clothed - with no identifying names or addresses. There is minimal or no risk here. There are numerous other scenarios in daily life where a similar situation could occur - photos wrongly posted to social media, school photos mixed up, etc.

It is not feasible - nor should it be normalised to an extent that it's expected - to carry out risk assessments for every single situation that may or may not occur. Personally, I feel it's yet another symptom of a modern society increasingly obsessed with accountability and adding yet more red tape where it's not really required.

I would encourage the OP and more people in general to exercise their other option - move on and forget about it.

B.A._Baracus

Op, mistakes happen. That's life.
No need to continue contacting them unless what you are really gearing up for is 'compensation'

All this talk of risk assessment ...
Company makes millions a year...
An individual should not be responsible but the company...

I'm getting a whiff of it right now :pac:

9db3xj7z41fs5u

I certainly don’t need their money. I make my own money the honest way.

Big Bag of Chips

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

There were normal pictures of my family (some under 12) on the beach in their togs.

Was the beach a private beach? If not then the children were in togs in a public place and anyone on the beach could have taken a photo of them either directly or inadvertently.

You overreacted.

Although I'd say you gave the office staff a bit of light relief on what was probably a busy day!

9db3xj7z41fs5u

Rubberchikken wrote: »

Of course you are.
You're probably melting as I type.

Fgs get a life. mistakes are made every day. Raising them to an abnormal level when they don't deserve it is exhausting.

I am crying as I read this message. How could a stranger that I never met with a different opinion to me be so mean? I think that if you get upset by things that people say on a messaging forum, then you must not have real problems.

I understand that they made a mistake. It was how they failed to look into it or acknowledge the data protection issues that bothered me. I checked with my colleague who is a GDPR-officer. They were in breach and he said that they should notify within 72h. And their mistake does not fall under the household exemption, unlike the other cited messages

Big Bag of Chips

So, what's your plan now, then?

I assume you have cancelled your order and asked them to delete all copies of the photos from their servers.

Antares35

OP do you realise that data breaches don't necessarily have to be reported to those affected? It's only where there will be an impact to the rights and freedoms of a natural person, for example discrimination, financial or social hardship, defamation etc.

9db3xj7z41fs5u

Antares35 wrote: »

OP do you realise that data breaches don't necessarily have to be reported? It's only where there will be an impact to the rights and freedoms of a natural person, for example discrimination, financial or social hardship, defamation etc.

I composed an email and sent if, on the basis of the advice from my GDPR officer colleague. I announced my concerns to the company. I did ask them to delete all the photos. I asked them to cancel my order. I shall not be using their services again. I am frustrated about their lack of acknowledgment. I just want people to be aware of this risk when they are creating their calendars in the future. Think that I am overreacting all you want. But data protection affects us all. If they are this casual with my photos, who knows how casual they are with my address or name or bank details. We all deserve due diligence when people are dealing with our personal information. I have sent the email (albeit, it has been ignored). I now consider the matter closed and will not engage with this company again.

Antares35

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

I composed an email and sent if, on the basis of the advice from my GDPR officer colleague. I announced my concerns to the company. I did ask them to delete all the photos. I asked them to cancel my order. I shall not be using their services again. I am frustrated about their lack of acknowledgment. I just want people to be aware of this risk when they are creating their calendars in the future. Think that I am overreacting all you want. But data protection affects us all. If they are this casual with my photos, who knows how casual they are with my address or name or bank details. We all deserve due diligence when people are dealing with our personal information. I have sent the email (albeit, it has been ignored). I now consider the matter closed and will not engage with this company again.

Oh god trust me I don't need a data protection lecture I also didn't say you are over reacting (although I think you are). Just pointing out the legal obligations on the company.

LegacyUser

I am surprised at the amount of people who would have no issue with this. I think you are entirely in your rights to feel aggrieved by the inactions of the company.
Mistakes happen but it is how they are being addressed.

Firstly, is it personal data. Yes it is, but not necessarily yours. Depends if you are in the pictures or not. The reason it is personl data is because the people in the pictures could be identified directly or indirectly.

Secondly, is it a breach of personal data. Yes, it is. The photos have been made available to others without authorisation.

Thirdly, is it reportable. That’s where it becomes a bit tricky. A breach is reportable to the data protection authority (in this instance probably the ICO) where there is a likelihood of risk of harm (this can be financial, reputational, physical, emotional…). Where the risk of harm is high it does not only have to be reported to the ICO but also the individuals involved if possible. This of course gets a bit harder as the company may not have any information allowing them to contact the individuals affected directly and they have no obligation to you.

What can you do. Well, you can lodge a complaint with the company and if not addressed appropriately you can make a complaint to the ICO or the DPC.

Further, you can request access to your data and information on how it has been used (such as unathorised disclosure). Of course, as you have outlined you can exercise your right to erasure. You can also go through the courts but there isn’t much precedence to date so this may be a costly venture and I’d say it would be hard to demonstrate any material or non material damages.

The fact that the a person may choose to publish pictures (of themselves) on Facebook or WhatsApp has little to do with the company disclosing the pictures without authorisation. That is because it is a choice. How our personal data is used should be our choice.

osarusan

I can understand you being quite p!ssed off, as a company that makes such calendars should be extra extra careful when posting them.

But beyond the complaint you have already made to them, I don't know what more you can do.

joeguevara

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

There were normal pictures of my family (some under 12) on the beach in their togs. I would just like clarification that these pictures have been sent back to the company, and this doesn’t happen again. I don’t know who now possesses the images.

I have sent back the calendar. I do not know who has my calendar

I just don’t want this to happen for other families

Who in their right mind wants a calendar of under 12 kids in swimming togs. Even if they are related other people who come to their home aren't.

Secondly what due diligence did you undertake before sending the photos to a third party. Did you read the t and Cs. If I knew that someone was forwardin pics to an unknown entity I would go nuts.

I hope this is a wind up because all of the issues raised are basically directed at you.

You really sending kids in togs over the net. 😱😱😱

notsoyoungwan

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

I am crying as I read this message. How could a stranger that I never met with a different opinion to me be so mean?


I think that if you get upset by things that people say on a messaging forum, then you must not have real problems.

You wrote that last sentence just after saying you were crying because of a message someone wrote on the thread. Does your sentiment apply to yourself?

You are massively over-reacting to what happened, and tbh if you were that worried about strangers having pictures of your children and other kids, then you wouldn’t have sent those photos online to a company where strangers would be dealing with them in the first place. I mean, what if the employees have sinister motives?? Equally as possible as the random recipient being a paedophile.

I’m laughing at your demands re the risk assessment. In my experience, the people who go about demanding risk assessments very often don’t have a grasp of what they are or of what their value can be, or more importantly, what they can’t be useful for. And you have no right to demand a private company do a risk assessment or change their policies.

The J Stands for Jay

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

Childrens’ pictures (as distinct from adults’ pictures) are considered sensitive materials under GDPR. That is why the schools ask us fill in so much paperwork about using the kids’ images now

Here is the list of sensitive information under GDPR:
Racial or ethnic origin
Political opinions
Religious or philosophical beliefs
Trade union membership
Genetic data
Biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person
Data concerning health or a natural person’s sex life and/or sexual orientation

freshpopcorn

Personally I wouldn’t be but I’d be a bit annoyed that I didn’t get the correct Calendar.
Just in my experience people who get worked up over things like this or similar generally are just a bit of an over reactor and have little to be worrying about and could do with taking things less seriously.

ManOfMystery

Barbara Fresh Vender wrote: »

I am crying as I read this message. How could a stranger that I never met with a different opinion to me be so mean? I think that if you get upset by things that people say on a messaging forum, then you must not have real problems.

I understand that they made a mistake. It was how they failed to look into it or acknowledge the data protection issues that bothered me. I checked with my colleague who is a GDPR-officer. They were in breach and he said that they should notify within 72h. And their mistake does not fall under the household exemption, unlike the other cited messages

I wrote the GDPR policy for our firm. Still think you're being overzealous!

I'm not sure why you posted this thread, which is what people generally do when they are on the fence about something. You've had many responses and the general consensus is that it's an OTT reaction, but you keep arguing the same point. If you don't want to accept that or take it on board, why ask in the first place? It sounds like you're content with the courage of your convictions.

ztoical

OP you clearly ordered this calendar over the internet rather then in a physical shop so you electronically sent your photos to them, that would have been a bigger security risk to your images then one calendar being sent to the wrong person. You must have signed/clicked a terms and conditions statement from the store before sending so go check the terms and conditions and if they breached it complain and you'll most likely get a free calendar. Everything else is OTT.