The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the State government to submit a detailed report within three weeks on the growing practice of photographing and filming people receiving charitable assistance and circulating the images on social media, observing that the trend amounts to a violation of privacy and human rights.The Commission instructed the Chief Secretary to explain the measures currently in place to address the issue, whether any official guidelines had been issued, and what further action the government proposed to take. The Commission will consider the case at its sitting to be held in Kannur.The direction was issued on a complaint filed by Zaheer Chalil under the campaign ‘Sneham Social Mediakku Vendi’. According to the complaint, photographs and videos of people receiving various forms of assistance are frequently shared on social media without their explicit consent. It argues that such practices infringed upon the recipients’ privacy and their constitutional right to live with dignity.The complaint further stated that fear of having their images circulated online discouraged several genuinely needy people from accepting assistance. While charitable initiatives should continue to address hunger and hardship, they must also safeguard the dignity and privacy of beneficiaries, it said.The petitioner also urged the Commission to examine the growing trend of using people’s distress for social media publicity and to initiate appropriate action. Published - July 16, 2026 07:51 pm IST