Norway has now declared that influencers residing in the country must explicitly specify in their posts that they digitally enhanced their photos in an effort to fight back against unrealistic beauty standards.
The bill was passed earlier this month with 72 officials voting in favor of it and 15 against it. According to the amendment to the country’s 2009 Marketing Act, all advertisements in the country wherein models’ body size, shape, or skin were retouched will need to be marked with a standardized label designed by the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. Even photos that used filters will be required to have this label.
Violators will be fined and, with “extreme” cases, imprisoned.
The Ministry reportedly hopes that this can help people identify whether an image is fake or not and curb body dysmorphia.
“Body pressure is always there, often imperceptibly, and is difficult to combat,” they said in a statement. “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.”
Though Norwegian influencers enthusiastically supported the bill, many netizens questioned how the Ministry would be able to keep track of violations and what the exceptions were. Some pointed out how lighting techniques in photoshoots can alter the way a model looks although it is not essentially a digital enhancement per se.
The King of Norway has yet to enact the bill into law.
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