Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly defended her team’s work.
In his testimony before Congress, Bondi suggested that the Obama administration refused to respond to the Epstein sex trafficking scandal.
Concerns that school photography company LifeTouch may be included in the Justice Department’s file on Jeffrey Epstein sparked widespread social media posts and school districts across the country responded to the voices of upset parents. However, the company refutes this claim.
“LifeTouch’s name does not appear in the Epstein files. The documents do not contain any allegations that LifeTouch itself engaged in any illegal activity or that any student photos were used in any illegal activity,” LifeTouch said in a Feb. 10 statement on its website and posted on social media.
Still, concerns are rife on social media that LifeTouch may be named in Epstein’s file.
One content creator posted an Instagram Reel on February 12th warning parents about schools using the company and advising them to opt out of photos of their children. To date, it has been viewed 39,000 times.
At X, in a post that had been viewed more than 100,000 times as of February 13, one user reiterated the company’s claim that it was on file, writing, “They keep a database of all digital photos of children and their personal information.”
The controversy appears to stem from the ownership of Lifetouch’s parent company, Shutterfly, which is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Leon Black, former CEO of Apollo Global Management, is named in the Epstein file.
Here’s what you need to know about the relationship between LifeTouch, Apollo Global Management, Black Co., and Epstein Co.
Is Lifetouch in the Epstein files? Explaining the connection to billionaire Leon Black
LifeTouch said his name is not listed in the Epstein files. The company has taken student privacy seriously amid rumors of a relationship with a convicted sex offender.
“When a LifeTouch photographer takes a photo of a student, that image is protected only by the family and the school, without exception,” LifeTouch said in a statement from current CEO Ken Murphy.
LifeTouch’s ties to the Epstein files date back to Black, a billionaire and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which owns LifeTouch’s parent company, Shutterfly.
Emails show that associates of Mr. Epstein arranged meetings between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Black between 2010 and 2017. Black was also mentioned in an email thread between FBI employees. The email states, “Someone stated that Epstein instructed her to give Black a massage while he was naked, and someone stated that another woman gave Black a massage and had him perform oral sex on her.” The names of the accusers have been redacted.
Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, previously denied wrongdoing in a statement to USA TODAY.
“Mr. Black called for an independent investigation into his relationship with Mr. Epstein. After examining and reviewing more than 60,000 documents and interviewing more than 20 people, the Dechert Law Firm concluded that Mr. Black paid Mr. Epstein for estate planning and tax advice and had no knowledge of Mr. Epstein’s criminal conduct,” the statement said.
Black left Apollo Global Management in March 2021 amid increased scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein, The New York Times reported.
USA TODAY has reached out to Apollo Global Management for comment.
School district responds to LifeTouch, Epstein report
Several school districts across the country responded to the rumors as parents raised concerns about LifeTouch’s possible connection to Epstein.
Arizona’s Prescott Valley Charter School announced on February 10 that it would cancel future photo days “out of an abundance of caution” due to “recent media coverage and online discussion related to the photo company LifeTouch.”
“While there is no information indicating a direct impact on the school or students, our greatest responsibility has always been the safety, security and trust of our families,” the school said in a statement.
In Salinas, California, Alisal Union School District Superintendent Monica Anzo addressed unsubstantiated rumors that LifeTouch “shares photos with unauthorized third parties for illicit purposes” in a Feb. 11 letter to parents.
“We want you to be assured that the safety and security of our children is the district’s top concern and we are ensuring that our third-party vendors adhere to the same safety standards,” Anzo said, also sharing a copy of LifeTouch’s statement.
Anna M. Cutaia, superintendent of Milford Public Schools in Milford, Conn., also issued a letter sharing LifeTouch’s statement.
“We are writing to address recent media reports regarding the release of Epstein investigative files and other allegations regarding the leadership of LifeTouch, a photo company often used for school photos,” Cutaia said. “We understand these headlines are alarming and want to provide clarity to our family.”
What is Life Touch? Please read the rest of the statement.
LifeTouch is an 80-year-old photography company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, according to its website. The company is well known for its work nationwide in K-12 school photography and other school-related activities.
Shutterfly acquired Lifetouch in 2018, according to the company’s timeline history.
In its student privacy statement, LifeTouch writes:
- Lifetouch images are shared only for school records and to be available for purchase by parents. Additionally, as part of our decades-long relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, LifeTouch prints a free Smile Safe Card for every student we photograph for families to use with law enforcement if their child goes missing.
- Lifetouch complies with all applicable federal, state, and local data privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In fact, Lifetouch is the first school photography company to sign a voluntary and enforceable privacy pledge, reaffirming our deep commitment to protecting our school community.
- Lifetouch does not share, sell, or license student images to train AI models, including large-scale language models and facial recognition technology. Lifetouch has never provided images to other third parties for such purposes.
- The fund, managed by a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, invests in Shutterfly, LifeTouch’s parent company. Neither Apollo nor its funds are involved in Lifetouch’s day-to-day operations, so no one employed by Apollo has ever had access to the students’ images.
- Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files. The document does not contain any allegations that LifeTouch itself engaged in any illegal activity or that the students’ photos were used.
Read the full statement on the Lifetouch website.
Contributors: Erin Mansfield, Kathryn Palmer, Jayme Fraser, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
