Meager ties to Epstein Files causing Lifetouch backlash

Nationwide, parents and school districts are expressing outrage and concern over alleged connections between an executive named in the notorious Epstein Files and the leading school portrait provider Lifetouch (and, by extension, Shutterfly and Snapfish). Concerns began circulating on various corners of the internet, and it became widely known that Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch, has been owned by Apollo Management Group since 2019, the private equity firm once run by billionaire financier Leon Black. Black, along with dozens of other prominent people, is reported to be in the files connected with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Black co-founded Apollo Management Group in 1990. He led the organization as CEO and chairman until 2021; the same year it was revealed he had paid Epstein $158 million in fees and lent him over $30 million, as reported by the New York Times. Apollo bought Shutterfly in 2019, just months after it acquired Lifetouch.

The backlash has been substantial, with coverage in numerous big-city media outlets and a few national ones, like U.S. News and World Report.

Sample headlines:

East Texas districts canceling school photos amid Epstein concerns

Texas families alarmed as largest school photography company tied to Epstein figure

Some US Schools Cancel Class Pictures After Online Claims Surrounding Epstein

The timing of this outrage couldn’t be worse for Shutterfly, as the company is rumored to be negotiating the divestiture of its Lifetouch business. In recent months, the company has sold its Canadian operations and its senior portrait studios, with more announcements were expected in the post-SPAC timeframe.

The drama also carries an overtone of concern about privacy and technology, as Molly Wilhelm, Trending Reporter at the Chron, pointed out. 

An education opportunity

While some industry firms and competitors may relish another public relations stumble for Lifetouch – especially if it means picking up accounts – the issue represents a challenge for the volume photography industry. Demonstrating the ongoing value of school photos is a challenge for the school photographer firms; a high-profile incident like this may provide fuel for districts to consider taking school portraits “in-house.” Unfounded rumors of how images are secured or are used to train AI need to be debunked.

Industry response

Lifetouch promptly issued a statement:

At Lifetouch, student safety goes beyond the camera lens. As a trusted partner to schools for 90 years, we’re committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of every student we serve.
When Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and schools, only, with no exceptions.
Lifetouch does not – and has never provided – images to any third party.
Amidst a sea of misinformation, here are the facts:
– Lifetouch images are shared only for the purposes of school records and to allow parents or guardians to purchase them. Additionally, as part of our decades long relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Lifetouch prints SmileSafe cards free of charge for each student we photograph that families can use with law enforcement if a child goes missing.
– Lifetouch follows all applicable federal, state, and local data privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In fact, Lifetouch was the first school photography company to sign a voluntary and enforceable privacy pledge—reaffirming our deep commitment to protecting school communities.
– Lifetouch never shares, sells, or licenses student images to train AI models, including large language models, or facial recognition technology. Lifetouch has never provided images for such purposes to any other third party.
– Funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management are investors in Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch. Neither Apollo nor its funds are involved in the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and therefore no one employed by Apollo has ever had access to any student images.
– Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files. The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities
We value the trust you put in us to safeguard your students’ images, and we are proud to help families across the country preserve these milestone memories.

Our commitments to student safety are publicly available here:
https://lnkd.in/gyCK_Qn7
https://lnkd.in/g-NZjt7g
https://lnkd.in/gtpt547R

Everest Solutions, which recently purchased the Lifetouch Canada business, posted a statement as well:

At Lifetouch Canada owned by Everest Solutions in Canada, student safety goes beyond the camera lens. As a trusted partner to schools for 90 years, we’re committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of every student we serve.

Amidst a sea of misinformation, here are the facts:
– Lifetouch Canada and Everest images are shared only for the purposes of school records and to allow parents or guardians to purchase them. Additionally, as part of our long relationship with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, Lifetouch Canada prints Pictures to Protect cards free of charge for each student we photograph that families can use with law enforcement if a child goes missing.
– Lifetouch Canada is privately owned by Everest Solutions. Lifetouch US is owned by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, however no past or present member of Apollo’s Board of Directors or Apollo’s investors have ever had access to student images, for any purpose. This includes Apollo’s original co-founder and former CEO and Chairman Leon Black, who stepped away from Apollo in 2021.
– Additionally, Lifetouch Canada, Everest Solution and Lifetouch US never share, sell, or license student images to train AI models, including large language models, or facial recognition technology. Lifetouch has never provided images for such purposes to any other third party.
– Lifetouch Canada and Everest Solutions follow all applicable provincial, national, and local data privacy laws.

We value the trust you put in us to safeguard your students’ images, and we are proud to help families across the country preserve these milestone memories.

The Dead Pixels Society reached out to the industry association, the School Photographers of America, for a public statement. The association has chosen not to make a proactive public statement at this time but will be updating its website resources to provide information on best practices for data security and student privacy.