Before/After Photo Compliance: The Legal Lines of Progress Imagery

1. Complete authorization chain: capture consent (at treatment) + external-use authorization (at publication), in a two-layer structure (the case records); withdrawal rights and post-withdrawal handling spelled out.
2. Authenticity, non-negotiable: same person, unretouched, no filters, identical capture conditions — others’ photos, AI-generated or touched-up comparisons are false advertising, the heaviest zone for penalties and lawsuits.
3. Labeling duties: platform-mandated notices (“results vary”); medical-ad review certificates where required.

• Administrative: false-advertising fines (multiples of ad spend), platform bans.
• Civil: portrait-rights lawsuits from the clients shown.
• Trust: one exposed retouched comparison puts every case’s authenticity in doubt — irreversible.

1. Authorization templates carry a “use list” (internal file / website / social / print); publishing maps to it.
2. Dual review before posting: content compliance (the no-go map) + image authenticity check (metadata, original-file comparison).
3. A “cleared cases” library — unauthorized material invisible and unusable.

Are censored patient photos free to use?

Blurring lowers identifiability but doesn’t waive consent — identifiable features (tattoos, moles, hairstyles) still require authorization.

Influencers posting our comparisons — legal?

Influencer posting is commercial use: client authorization must cover that use, and the influencer contract needs material-license clauses — documents on both ends.

• Imaging Protocol
• Consent
• Influencer Compliance