A growing number of schools across the country have canceled or postponed Picture Day this week, following viral allegations that the company behind most school portraits, Lifetouch, has indirect ties to Jeffrey Epstein through its parent firm’s past leadership.
The controversy exploded online after a forum post in an Austin, Texas community group gained traction on February 12, raising concerns over the recently released documents from the Epstein files.
The post described how a school had abruptly pulled out of its scheduled photo day amid parental outrage.
“The idea that someone like that could have access to school photos nationwide is honestly disturbing,” the poster said.
One of the US’s biggest school photography companies is facing a PR nightmare, after its former leadership appeared in the Epstein files
Image credits: Emmanuel Acua/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Though Lifetouch itself is not named in the Epstein documents, its financial ownership has become the source of mass anxiety.
Lifetouch is owned by Shutterfly, which in turn was acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2019.
Image credits: US Department of Justice
Apollo was co-founded and led by billionaire financier Leon Black until he stepped down as CEO and chairman in 2021, after a review found he had paid Jeffrey Epstein more than $150 million for financial and tax-planning advice between 2012 and 2017.
Image credits: Lifetouch/Facebook
At the same time, Black was mentioned in emails about trying to obtain signatures for the financier’s 50th birthday book.
While the corporate trail is indirect, it was enough to cause nationwide unease. Many parents expressed feeling powerless at the thought that their children could be preyed on at any time, even in places where they should have been safe.
Image credits: Goldman Sachs
“It makes you think about how Epstein identified and targeted vulnerable kids/families, especially in rural or low-income communities,” one user wrote.
“This whole situation feels like something out of a horror movie.”
Parents in Weber County, Utah received an email from the district this week attempting to quell the outrage.
A local news segment from ABC4 clarified that while Lifetouch operates independently, it remains part of Shutterfly’s business portfolio, which Apollo acquired.
A district representative admitted the affiliation “is far removed,” but acknowledged that the concern was widespread enough to require an official statement.
As the outrage grew and became impossible to ignore, Lifetouch Group was forced to issue a statement
Image credits: US Department of Justice
In a formal response, CEO Ken Murphy explained he was aiming to counter what he described as a “sea of misinformation.” In the statement, he denied that any student images were ever shared outside the intended school or family networks.
“Lifetouch does not – and has never provided – images to any third party,” Murphy said.
He also stressed that Lifetouch has no involvement with artificial intelligence models, facial recognition databases, or commercial data-sharing of any kind.
“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.”
Image credits: Lifetouch
The CEO then moved onto the Epstein issue:
“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.”
Murphy reminded the public that Lifetouch has been a school partner for 90 years and helped distribute free SmileSafe ID cards in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
But it was too late, online trust was already eroding. The connection had become too uncomfortable to ignore.
The debate went beyond Epstein, with netizens criticizing the company for their business practices
Image credits: US Department of Justice
According to Lifetouch itself, the company contracts with 50,000 schools and childcare centers across the country. In practical terms, this means it controls somewhere between one-third and half of the entire market.
Because of their massive presence, the debate soon went beyond Epstein and became a full-blown reputational crisis. Online, teachers, photographers, and administrators took the chance to air their grievances about Lifetouch.
In their opinion, the company has used their position to effectively stranglehold the school photography industry.
“Lifetouch gives us 8% back,” one alleged school principal wrote. “We dumped them years ago and went with a local who gives us 40% back. We put that in the principal’s fund to buy incentives for students and pay for field trips.”
Others described the barriers small photography studios face when trying to compete.
“It’s all a big orchestra of petty bribes with working lunches costing maybe thousands for holding millions on contract,” another added.
Despite no direct wrongdoing proven, and trust in institutional vetting at an all-time low, many parents said they’re seeking alternatives.
“Parents should sue.” Netizens took to social media to express their discomfort
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