School districts across the country are reconsidering their photo day partnerships after social media posts hint at connections between a major school photo company and a billionaire investor found in Justice Department files related to the sex scandal that convicted Jeffrey Epstein.
At least 10 counties in four states have canceled or temporarily suspended their contracts with Lifetouch, the nation’s largest camera operator. Other districts have announced that they are still planning to work with this company, while they are still reviewing to ensure that it helps their students.
The dispute centers on Leon Black, an associate of Epstein and the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, the investment fund that bought Lifetouch’s parent company, Shutterfly, in September 2019.
In recent weeks, viral posts on Facebook and elsewhere have called Lifetiuch’s proximity to Epstein’s trail a “red flag for parents,” and warned families against allowing their children’s photos and data to be stored by a company that may have ties to Epstein. No evidence has emerged that any of the children’s photos were improperly accessed as news organizations reviewed thousands of Epstein documents released by the Justice Department, and Lifetouch says on its website that when a student’s photo is taken, “that photo is protected from families and schools, only, without exception.”
Lifetouch called the allegations of a relationship with Epstein “absolutely false.” The company said it was committed to student privacy and added that the timeline of events did not support a direct connection: Apollo’s acquisition of Shutterfly came two months after Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges and a month after he killed himself while awaiting trial.
“None of Lifetouch’s management has had any relationship or connection with Epstein and we have never shared student photos with any third party, including Apollo,” the company said in an email. “Apollo and its funds have no role in the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and have no access to student photos.”
Epstein and Black have been at odds since 2001, when Epstein served as director of the Black family’s foundation, a family statement in Epstein’s files shows. Emails and documents in a list of documents released by the Justice Department show that the two have had meetings over the years and show that Black received financial advice from Epstein. Black’s full name appears in the Epstein files more than 8,200 times, although some records may be duplicates.
Through his lawyers, Black declined to comment on Lifetouch. Citing health problems that he said were exacerbated by public scrutiny of his dealings with Epstein, Black left Apollo Global Management in 2021, two years after the fund acquired Lifetouch’s parent company.
Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, has denied wrongdoing on his behalf.
However, some families with school children feel uncomfortable.
East Texas mother Brittney McLain, who has three daughters, said she asked her children’s school to cut ties with Lifetouch after learning about Shutterfly’s connection to Apollo. When her children’s district, the Malakoff Independent School District, announced last week that it was canceling Lifetouch’s spring photos, McLain was relieved — despite her previous reliance on the Lifetouch brand.
“It sounds dirty,” he said in a phone interview. “You have pictures, children, and data, which are anywhere near corruption, and many parents – especially mothers – want distance.”
Social media posts linking Lifetouch to Epstein and broader conspiracy theories began to emerge earlier this month. In another post on Feb. 3, an X account sympathetic to the baseless QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories posted an 18-minute video claiming that Lifetouch, along with several other major brands, including Chuck E. Cheese, were part of a global child trafficking ring linked to Epstein. (In an email, Chuck E. Cheese said “There’s no story here” and said its CEO was only on Epstein’s files on the forward list of conference speakers from 2018.)
NBC News identified several posts from Feb. 5 on Facebook and X from accounts with about 324,000 followers that the alleged photos of children taken by Lifetouch were compromised. Many posts on Facebook used similar language, urging parents to “Ask questions” and “Protect your children.” X’s single post alone received 1.4 million views.
As the online debate grew, a widely read Reddit post last week from a teacher who identified himself as saying the Epstein link had caused their school to cancel photo day. The Reddit user did not identify the state but, at the time, local news outlets in several states had reported that schools in their communities were struggling to address parents’ concerns about Lifetiuch.
NBC News reached out to 10 school districts in states including Texas, Arizona, Michigan and New Jersey that have announced they are canceling or suspending their contracts with Lifetiuch. No one responded except for Malakoff, who said in an email that “after feedback from our parents, we have decided to keep all photos indoors for now.”
Lifetouch screens more than 25 million students each year in more than 50,000 schools, according to its website. The 90-year-old company has gone viral for relatively simple issues in the past — like whether the laser-themed photo booth it offered in the 1980s was too corny.
Some school districts are still open to using Lifetouch despite the recent controversy. In California, Alisal Union School District administrators say they are considering how to proceed.
“The Alisal Union School District takes seriously its responsibility to protect the safety and security of its students and families,” the district said, adding: “A decision like that must be made in consultation with various stakeholders, including parents, staff and Board members.”
And at the 32,000-student school in the Weber School District in Utah, public information officer Lane Findlay said he’s “assessing the situation” since receiving a few concerns from parents. After speaking with the Lifetouch contact in Utah, the district felt confident that the students’ information was safe.
“Whatever that connection is, it’s a long way from where we are in the area. It’s such a leap,” Findlay said. “We are comfortable, confident that there is no compromise of any kind of student data, student images, and we will continue our relationship with Lifetiuch.”
But McLain, a Texas mother of three, doesn’t feel she can trust the photography company.
“I understand that there may or may not be a direct connection now, but I think that for many parents that does not remove the discomfort,” he said, “Even the idea of meeting is important when children are involved.”
