New UK law could make it illegal for the public to post unmarked retouched photos (Photo: Getty Images)
Last year, Norway passed a law that made it illegal for digital influencers not to re-display paid content posted on their social media profiles. Now it’s the UK’s turn to tackle body dysmorphia online.
call of digitally converted body image bill (“The Law of Digitally Altered Body Images”, in free translation), motion was made in the English Parliament this Wednesday (13.01) and calls for greater transparency from brands and influencers for content, such as That has been improved with tools like Photoshop, Facetune. , among others. Other Image Editors. The idea is for content producers to flag paid posts with touch-ups the same way they currently do for commercially created posts.
The initiative came soon after the UK’s National Health Service, the NHS, reported a 41% increase in hospitalizations for anorexia, bulimia and eating disorders among young people under the age of 17 between April and October 2021. The rise in the number of cases is partly attributed to the pandemic and the greater interaction on social media that has happened between us during this period.
“If someone was paid to post a photo on social media that was edited, or advertisers or whoever posted it, is making money from a photo that has been corrected, they should not know about it.” I must be honest,” said Dr. Luke Evans, proposing the responsible legislation. This is the second time an MP has introduced a law for the purpose. In 2020, he had made a similar proposal earlier as well, but it was not approved.
He said in his speech during the law’s presentation, “This law is not intended to prevent people from retouching their wedding photos or removing red-eye from a publication, it is designed to protect those with significant influence and are with commercial intent.” If passed, the legislation should be referred to the Advertising Standards Authority, which would define how information in the post should be flagged.
