One of the child custody issues that can come up during a divorce is navigating the content shared on social media. For example, if your former spouse keeps posting pictures of your child on social media, what can you do to stop or limit it?
In California, there is no law that specifically addresses this question—and it is up to the judge in each unique case to decide if restrictions on either parent posting pictures of their children online should be restricted or prohibited.
If there is actual harm being done to the children as a result of the photos being posted, or if the photos themselves show the children being physically harmed or abused by the other parent or anyone else, then the facts of these situations would have to be considered by the court in making a decision about social media postings.
Child Custody: What’s OK on Social Media & What’s Not
Unless a court order prevents a parent from doing something, including posting photos of their children on social media, the parent is generally able to exercise their rights and share their family’s life with others.
The social media account may be public, so that anybody anywhere in the world can review the postings and photos, or it may be restricted to a small group of family and friends so that only a few people can see the photos.
The point is, absent actual harm to the children from such postings, it may be difficult to convince a judge to restrict a parent from sharing family photos online.
In cases where the other parent is prohibited by court order from doing something, such as smoking and drinking around the children, any photos he or she posts that show these banned activities with the children present can be useful if you want to both seek a modification of the custody and visitation orders and at the same time ask for social media postings by the other parent to stop.
But if the other parent just posts pictures of the children enjoying themselves in his or her company, even if those photos show the kids with their new pony or on dad’s Lake Tahoe speedboat, the fact is that while these postings might be spiteful and intended to antagonize you somewhat, this really is not enough to ask a court to stop the photos from being posted.
Contact a San Diego Divorce Lawyer for Help With Child Custody
When you’re going through a divorce, an experienced divorce attorney can help you understand the process and how to navigate child custody issues.
If you are considering divorce or have already made the difficult decision to pursue divorce and have questions, contact JWB Family Law to schedule a free consultation.
