Lifetouch, one of the most popular school-photography companies in the nation, is facing backlash — and even canceled school photo days — because of an unsubstantiated online rumor.

The rumor claims that the former CEO of Lifetouch’s ownership group — who is named in the Epstein files — may have accessed children's photos, causing concern among parents and school districts around the country.

Lifetouch responded by releasing a statement from Ken Murphy, the Lifetouch group CEO. That message was shared with parents Tuesday by Turlock Unified School District, which uses Lifetouch to handle its school photography.

“First and foremost, Lifetouch is a proud and trusted partner to thousands of educational institutions, and we take the privacy of all the students we photograph extremely seriously,” said Murphy, who noted that he is the father of five school-aged children in addition to being the CEO. “When Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and school, only, with no exceptions. Lifetouch … has never provided images to ay third party, nor are student images shared.”

This isn’t the first time this school year that TUSD has had to deal with an issue involving Lifetouch.

Last fall, a Turlock High student was taken into custody by Turlock police after allegedly creating a website sharing Lifetouch portraits of THS students and encouraging schoolmates to rank the photos based on attractiveness.

TUSD sent a notice to parents about the website, and officials said they were working with the Turlock PD, technology staff, and Lifetouch to determine how the photographs were accessed.

Despite the pushback against the purported connection to the Epstein files, other concerns have emerged regarding data privacy and how your information and photos might be used.

“You want to know who owns those photos and that's typically done by contract,” Southern California-based attorney Steven Clark told ABC Channel 7 in Los Angeles. “And what can be done with the photos later between you and the photographer.” said Steven Clark.

Lifetouch said parents can fill out a form — visit lifetouch.com/additionaldataoptions/ — to request that their child's data be deleted.

Murphy closed the Lifetouch statement by addressing the rumors head-on.

“And while I hate to lend any credibility to these baseless rumors by repeating them, I do feel it necessary to very clearly state the following:

• 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.
• No one currently or formerly employed by (parent company) Apollo has ever had access to any student images or information.”