And Demand Our Kids’ Data
Dear Superintendent Nadeau,
I am attaching a petition that calls for ending Lifetouch contracts with U.S. public schools and for protecting student data and images.
A former Lifetouch executive, Leon Black, had a long-standing personal and professional association with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender. As documented publicly, Black made substantial payments to Epstein even after Epstein’s criminal conviction. Given Lifetouch’s role in collecting, storing, and retaining student photographs and related data, this association raises serious and unresolved concerns about student privacy and data governance.
The petition calls for the following actions:
A) A full, formal, public, and transparent investigation into how students’ photos and other personal data were handled by Lifetouch and its affiliates.
B) A full, formal, public, and transparent investigation into whether students’ photos or personal data were accessed, used, or otherwise utilized by Leon Black, Jeffrey Epstein, and/or their associates, including whether any such materials were accessed or processed using artificial intelligence and for what purposes.
C) A full, formal, public, and transparent report of all findings, discovery, evidence, and interviews, unredacted and made easily accessible to the public.
D) An encouragement for public school districts and state and federal leadership to suspend contracts with Lifetouch pending the outcome of such investigations, and to ensure Lifetouch and its associates have no further access to public schools during that period.
This petition has been sent to the U.S. Secretary of Education and other prominent elected officials. It appears that Lifetouch has been contracted to photograph students at Winnacunnet, as well as children in other New Hampshire schools. I am copying State officials in an effort to make them aware of this situation too.
Parents may have no meaningful way of knowing who has had—or may still have—access to their children’s images, how long those images are retained, or how they may be used in the future. For some families, this lack of transparency would not be unacceptable.
Given these concerns, I respectfully urge the district to seek an alternative vendor for student photography services and to place student privacy and safety first. At the minimum parents should be made aware of this situation so they can decide whether or not they want their child photographed by Lifetouch. It appears that even if parents do not purchase a package, their child is still photographed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Ann Marie Banfield
