Speak Out: Should Photoshop Parodies Be Considered Protected Speech?
Bill in Georgia House would outlaw using Photoshop or other digital imaging software to make someone appear to be nude or engaged in sexual activity.
Should manipulating photos using Photoshop or other software be protected under the First Amendment? A bill in the Georgia legislature, HB 39, provides “that a person commits defamation when he or she causes an unknowing person wrongfully to be identified as the person in an obscene depiction.” The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund says that Rep. Earnest Smith, one of the bill's co-sponsors, demonstrated “a profound lack of understanding of the First Amendment” when he told The Savannah Morning News “no one has a right to make fun of anyone….It’s not a First Amendment right.” Smith was commenting on a parody that featured his own face pasted onto a nude body. The photo is marked "fake image." The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund says Smith is …
Robert Kelly
8:07 am on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Editorial cartoons, drawings, are one thing. Manipulating a photo skillfully is making a statement as well. It is making a statement that the picture is a real photo and represents literal truth. That makes it a lie, and if it is a lie that hurts someone, it is libelous. It is not enough to say it is a fake; once it is online it is a simple matter for anyone to strip the legend off, and pass the … more ›