France has a history of airbrushing certain images, but they are not the only country guilty of the heavy handed use of Photoshop. They are, however, the first country to seriously consider putting warning labels on photos that have been Shopped. Opinion pieces on this news item have been popping up in my Google News Alerts for a few weeks now, but finally Time Magazine has written a “just the facts” article on the whole scuttlebutt…
France May Put Warning Labels on Airbrushed Photos
Bruce Crumley / ParisLike many Western countries, France requires health warnings on tobacco and alcohol and similar labels on processed food containing genetically modified ingredients. France’s regulators are also notoriously tough on marketing campaigns that make false product claims. Now some French legislators want to take consumer protection to an unprecedented level, requiring that advertisements, product labels and even campaign posters carry a warning when they feature a photograph that’s been digitally enhanced.
The drive against airbrushed photos is being headed by conservative parliamentarian Valérie Boyer, who says the widespread use of digital technology to alter images is feeding the public a steady visual diet of falsified people, places and products. This artificial reality leads people to expect perfection from themselves and the world in an impossible way, she says. “When writers take a news item or real event and considerably embellish it, they are required to alert readers by calling the work fiction, a novel or a story based on dramatized facts. Why should it be any different for photographs?” Boyer asks. “Rules on food labeling let consumers know the origins of the contents and the presence of things like additives and preservatives. What’s wrong with … informing them when photographs have also been modified from their original form?”
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