Labeling Retouched Photos, Models’ Medical Certificates Required in France
PHOTO FINISH: In a move to combat warped images of women’s bodies that can encourage eating disorders, the French government has passed a law requiring that all retouched photographs of models be labeled as such in advertising. It has also mandated that models furnish medical certificates in order to work in France.
Starting on Oct. 1, the words “photographie retouchée” (or “retouched photograph”) must accompany any manipulated images, according to the Journal Officiel, the French republic’s official gazette, published on Friday.
This involves “commercial photographs where models’ bodily appearance has been modified (to refine or broaden their silhouette).”
The mention is mandatory for images appearing in advertising in the press, online, on posters and catalogs.
Also in Friday’s Journal Officiel was published a bylaw stating that a model must furnish a medical certificate, which is valid for up to two years, attesting the “overall state of health of the person older than 16 years old, evaluated notably in regard to their body-mass index.”
That measure is to be put into effect starting on Saturday and is applicable even to models from other countries in the European economic zone who are working in France.
The law regarding retouched photos was first proposed in 2009.
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