Britain’s MPs are following Norway and France in fighting against retouched images, but the U.S. doesn’t appear to be following suit.
When scrolling through Instagram and other social media platforms, watching television, or simply looking at billboards, it can be impossible to decipher what’s real and what’s fake. Advertisers are all too quick to utilize photoshop, filters, and touch-up apps to produce the “ideal” face and body type on the models donning their goods. At the touch of a button, influencers too can shave off a few pounds, smooth their skin, and enhance their features. But these doctored images can have a negative impact on social media users’ mental health, even when we’re the ones using them (filters, anyone?). As such, British Members of Parliament (MPs), including D.R Luke Evans, are stepping in.
About 1 in 50 people worldwide struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a mental health condition causing obsessive focus on a perceived flaw that may be minor or imagined. Eating disorders affect at least 9% of people, and 85% suffer from self-esteem issues. In 2021, the Advertising Standards Agency told social media influencers that they could no longer use filters to exaggerate the effect of a cosmetic or skincare product, bit this was more to do with false advertising than it was mental health. Now, MPs are taking it a step further, advocating for a bill that demands warning labels to be placed on commercial digitally altered photos (this includes influencers) and for tighter regulations to be placed on cosmetic procedure promotions on social media sites.
But Britain isn’t the first country to try to combat this issue. In 2017, France implemented a law that requires an edited photograph label to be placed on digitally altered photos making models appear thinner or thicker. The law also requires models to undergo a yearly health examination where they can be medically certified to work. Similarly, Norway legislators passed a new law in 2021 requiring influencers and advertisers to publicly disclose when a promotional image has been edited.
With these nations taking legal action, will America, the home of influencers, Hollywood, and unrealistic beauty standards, follow? One would certainly assume so, but for now, it seems the U.S. lagging behind.
Established in the United States in 1914, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works to prevent deception in advertising and unfair business practices. Its slogan is “Protecting America’s Consumers”. In 2014, congress introduced the Truth in Advertising Act in an attempt to reduce the media’s use of altered images, but nothing came of it. Since, little has been done regarding the altering of body images in advertising, despite concern from users.
Until further regulations are legally implemented worldwide, influencers like David Fadd and Kailey Breyer are taking to social media to promote natural bodies and body positivity.
