A new law that just went into effect in France will affect everyone from magazine publishers to teens struggling with self-esteem issues. As Engadget reports, France has implemented a law that requires all photoshopped images of models to be labeled as such, meaning the next time you see a vanishing-and-reappearing limb or a head that’s just floating above its neck on a magazine cover, you’ll know just how it got that way. At least, you will if you live in France. But although a similar requirement hasn’t been put forth in the United States or anywhere else yet, the world’s largest stock photo resource has decided not to house those oddly concave images any longer.
Getty Images has announced that, come October, retouched images will be banned from creative stills submissions. That applies to any photos of models that have been altered to “make them look thinner or larger.” That’s a heartening move, given that tweaking the bodies of people who are already exceptionally good-looking has created an unrealistic standard for beauty. But while silhouettes can no longer be messed with, Getty notes that digitally removing a blemish is still allowed because that’s “outside the scope of this new law,” and after all, who ever worried about having perfect skin? Photographers and editors can also continue to change a model’s hair color or nose shape, and there’s still no word on the industry-wide practice of lightening a model’s complexion, but this is a step in the right direction.