Current events I. - Norway bans promotion of edited photos

 According to Insider (2021), companies and social media influencers in Norway are now prohibited from posting and promoting photoshopped photos or promoting images without stating whether or not they were edited. On June 2, Norway's parliamentary body, Stortinget, approved the new law by a vote of 72-15. The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs highlighted many studies in their initial request to the Norwegian parliamentary body, claiming that according to the National Institution of Health, Anorexia is the 3rd most common reason of death among young girls.The Ministry understands, however, that the regulation may be hard to implement because it is not always possible to identify when a picture has been changed. Advertisements in which the skin,  body shape or size has been edited — for example, reshaping the lips, shrinking the waist, changing the nose, covering the imperfections or even using some kind of filter before a photo is taken — will require specialized tag designed by Norway's Ministry of Children and Family Affairs.

A number of top Norwegian influencers and celebrities, according to the Norwegian daily newspaper Verdens Gang, are fighting for the restriction to be applied to all edited images.Retouched images will be required by law to include a government-designed tag to notify users. The hope is that notifying label will make it clearer when a body image is faked, potentially preventing advertisers and producers from editing their pictures and videos in the first place. Fines and even incarceration may be charged on those who fail to properly label their edited promotional.

Promoting unrealistic beauty ideals especially as a celebrity or idol who might have a potential fan group of people looking up to them is a very dangerous tool. Norway accepting this law is a great step to a healthier media environment and even this for someone maybe unnecessary change can help one´s mental health. 

Press-Reynolds, K. (n.d.). Influencers in Norway will soon have to disclose when paid posts include edited or manipulated body photos. Insider. Retrieved December 4, 2021, from https://www.insider.com/norway-law-social-media-influencers-advertisers-disclose-edited-images-2021-7