OSLO: Norway has recently passed the legislation that requires labeling all the edited pictures shared on different social platforms in a bid to ‘reduce pressure in society due to idealized people in advertising.
Reports quoting Norway officials cited that the Scandinavian country has just made it illegal for social media influencers to share edited photos without declaring that it has been edited, and failing which, can lead to behind bars or even penalties.
The legislation was introduced to address societal body pressure across the workplace, public spaces, at homes, and in various media, the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs stated in an official statement. ‘Body pressure is always there, often imperceptibly, and is difficult to combat’, it added.
The legislation, which is an amendment to the 2009 Marketing and Control Act, was passed in the country’s parliamentary body with a vote of 72-15 on June 2. However, it will be implemented after the King of Norway decides it should, according to the legislative decree.
Experts believe that this amendment concerns advertisers and influencers who receive financial benefits in exchange for their posts and will impact brands, and companies.
The implementation of this law requires disclosures for edits made after the image was taken and before, including filters on social media apps, that artificially enhances an individual’s appearance like enlarged lips, extra narrowed waists, along with fake muscles, among other changes.
The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs quoted a number of studies to support the case, including a report of National Institute of Public Health which stated that ‘anorexia [an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight] is the third most common cause of death among young girls’.
In its report, it also quoted that ‘body pressure’ in the Northern European country is a major issue to be addressed. A study of 2019 revealed that viewing cosmetically enhanced females increased the desire for cosmetic surgery among women aged between 18 and 29 years old.
Officials believed that ‘youth are exposed to a massive pressure to look good out through advertising and social media, and the models displayed are often digitally retouched that directly exposes youngsters to get an ideal beauty – which officials believe is impossible to achieve.
As the influencers and advertisers will be barred from posting edited pictures without proper documentation with a government-authorized label, the Norwegian authorities hoped to curb the negative impacts of body pressure among the masses.
The Scandinavian country is not the maiden state to introduce such steps, previously a legislator from Britain proposed a bill named ‘Digitally Altered Body Images Bill’ that required disclosures on social media posts for the alteration.
Earlier in 2017, French authorities also announced a new law that required commercial photos to acknowledge the modifications they made to made it ‘perfect’.
Meanwhile, Influencers seem divided on new legislation. A 26-year-old Norwegian model [Madeleine Pedersen] while speaking with Radio 1 Newsbeat said ‘it’s “about time” the rules were changed and hopes the law will stop young people comparing themselves to unrealistic images as there are so many people that are insecure about their body or face.’ As some hailed the law while other expressed concerns as it is yet to see the outcome once its executed.
