Norway has sparked a debate after making it illegal for social media influencers not to disclose when they've retouched a photograph.
The law passed this month and was introduced by Norway's Ministry of Children and Family Affairs in a bid to stop the perpetuation of impossible beauty standards in the country.
Officials were overwhelmingly in favor of the new law, with 72 voting in favor of it and just 15 voting against it.
However, the King of Norway has yet to decide when it will come into effect.
Once this date has been decided, any influencers who are making money with their social media content will have to publically disclose if their images have been edited - or if they have had any cosmetic surgery.
Alterations subject to the new law include changes that have been made to a person's body size, shape, skin - prior to the photograph being taken or afterward.
This means that anyone who has had cosmetic surgery like lip fillers or breast augmentation will also be subject to the new law.
The government will design a label that immediately lets people know if an image has been retouched.
The law will also affect any advertisers who use social media to promote their content.
Influencers and celebrities in Norway have to abide by the new law if they "receive any payment or other benefits" from the content.
The Independent reports that a 2019 study found that viewing pictures of women with cosmetic surgery increased the desire to have similar procedures among women ages 18 to 29.
Norway said that it was introducing the measures because "kroppspress" (body pressures) exist in the country.
The ministry said in the proposed amendments to the parliament: "The measure will hopefully make a useful and significant contribution to curbing the negative impact that such advertising has, especially on children and young people."
This comes after the image database site Getty Images said that it would be banning photographs of retouched models in 2017, per Independent.
That year, France also introduced new legislation which made it law for magazines to disclose when an image has been retouched.
However, despite officials being in favor of the law, reactions on social media have been mixed.
One Twitter user wrote: "So apparently they made it illegal in Norway for you not to specifically identify editing and touching up photos. wtf ! Lol you literally have to identify if you use the filter or if you did any Photoshop or editing at all [sic]."
A second added: "New Norway law mandates social media influencers disclose photo editing when they've retouched or added a filter to a photo. I am okay with this but it will most likely be similar to California's Prop 65 situation, where every photo will have it and people will just ignore it."
Meanwhile, a third Twitter user described the ban as a "much-needed step".
They wrote: "Much needed step. Photoshop/air brushing/filters have projected unrealistic beauty standards mostly for females contributing to body image issues for them. Kudos to Norway."
What do you think of Norway's ban? Let us know in the comments!
