K‑12 Schools and Student Data Privacy

Several U.S. school districts, including Malakoff ISD in Texas and at least one Arizona charter school, have canceled or shifted away from Lifetouch class picture days after viral social‑media posts linked the school‑photo company to billionaire Leon Black’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The posts pointed to Apollo Global Management’s 2019 acquisition of Shutterfly, Lifetouch’s parent, at a time when Black was Apollo’s CEO and had been a longtime Epstein associate. In response, Lifetouch and Apollo issued detailed denials, stressing that the deal closed a month after Epstein’s 2019 jailhouse suicide, that Apollo has no role in Lifetouch’s daily operations, and that neither Apollo nor Black has ever had access to student images or Lifetouch photo systems. Lifetouch’s CEO and the company reiterated that no Lifetouch executive has had any relationship or contact with Epstein and that the firm does not share student images with third parties, while some parents say they remain uneasy about how much identifying data the company collects on children. The episode illustrates how the massive DOJ Epstein-file release — and the thousands of references to Black within it — is now spinning off into broader public distrust of corporations and institutions, even where no evidence has emerged tying school photography to Epstein’s crimes.