Working with minor models: consent, hours and publication

Children's work needs a permit

Germany's Youth Employment Protection Act bans child labour in principle. Under section 6, the supervisory authority can grant exceptions on application, including for film and photo shoots and advertising events.

The law allows children over three and up to six up to two hours a day between 8 am and 5 pm, and children over six up to three hours a day between 8 am and 10 pm. Without a permit the child can't work, so allow time for the application before the shoot.

Consent to data processing

Photos and measurements are personal data. Under Article 8 GDPR, young people can only give valid consent for online services themselves from age 16, and member states may lower that to 13. Below the applicable age, those with parental responsibility must agree, and the controller has to make reasonable efforts to verify that they did. Specialist sources give email double opt-in as one example.

Consent has to be specific and informed. According to the sources below, blanket permission for any and all publication isn't enough, and neither is assuming consent because a parent was on set.

Involve both parents and teenagers

Ratgeber Recht reports that a two-part model works well in practice: parents give consent, and the teenager separately confirms they've been informed and agree. That keeps things clear, including later on.

What belongs on your website

Even with consent, publish only what you need to represent the model. Our own recommendations, which go beyond what the law requires:

• Keep profiles of minors private by default and release them deliberately
• Keep them out of search engines
• Show a first name only, with no contact details, school or home town
• Strip location data from photos
• Store consent with its date and scope, and be ready to act on withdrawal