JustJared, People tout ‘no kids’ photo policies after stars’ pleas

Pop culture site JustJared.com and celebrity magazine People will not publish unauthorized images of celebrities’ children, the media outlets announced Tuesday.

The move comes shortly after “House of Lies” star Kristen Bell and husband Dax Shepard of “Parenthood” called for a boycott of media in January to stop the transmission of prying paparazzi shots of celebrity kids. The couple welcomed their baby girl, Lincoln, in March 2013 and have been protective of the child and vocal about being hounded by photographers trying to capture images of their daughter.

JustJared.com and its spin-off teen site JustJaredJr.com, which frequently posts celebrity snapshots along with pared captions, announced that its “#NoKidsPolicy” entails that they will no longer publish the unauthorized images or videos of celebrity children who are not public figures, the company said in a statement.

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The 2005 startup receives more than 18 million unique monthly visitors and touts itself as the first major celebrity and news blog to take a stand against the paparazzi. Incidentally, People magazine also reiterated a similar policy on the same day.

Editor in chief Jared Eng and CEO Jason Eng, who dub the site as the “nice-guy blogger,” said that they have “actively scaled back” content featuring celebrity kids and made the their latest move following actresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner’s testimony in August, which resulted in California’s Legislature passing SB 606, aimed at preventing paparazzi from taking unauthorized photos of celebrities’ kids. The bill was subsequently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The brothers also discussed the matter with “Gossip Girl” actress Blake Lively, and new moms Bell and Jaime King of “Hart of Dixie” before reaching their decision.

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“Kids of public figures have a right to be respected as private citizens, so unauthorized photos will no longer have a place on our sites,” said Jared Eng. “ As the first blogger to take this stance, I hope other media outlets will follow suit. We plan to work closely with celebrities and their teams to enforce a #NoKidsPolicy.”

So what does that mean for JustJared.com patrons? Eng addressed that consequence on the website.

“We won’t be posting photos of children of public figures without consent. All of the paparazzi shots of kids playing at the park, catching a flight at the airport, and walking to school will be off limits,” he said. “Exceptions to the rule include consensual photos like public figures with kids on the red carpet, at sports games and concert venues, and pictures shared directly via social media.”

Bell seemed thrilled about the policy change.

“I approached Jared before any other news or entertainment blogs because I personally love his site,” Bell said in a statement. “His content has always been classy and fun. I knew his brand would be in line with a no kids policy and Jared was excited to lend support.”

Shortly after JustJared’s announcement, People magazine’s editor released a similar statement on the matter.

“The editors at PEOPLE have always been careful when dealing with photos of kids, but in the past few months our sensitivity has been significantly heightened, and our editorial practices have changed accordingly,” People editorial director Jess Cagle said Tuesday. “When I took over as editorial director of PEOPLE in January, I told our staff that PEOPLE would not publish photos of celebs’ kids taken against their parents’ wishes, in print or online.”

“Of course, we still run a lot of sanctioned photos — like exclusive baby pictures taken with the cooperation of celebrity parents, and photos of stars posing with their kids at events (like a red carpet) where they’re expecting and willing to be photographed,” Cagle added. “But we have no interest in running kids’ photos taken under duress. Of course, there may be rare exceptions based on the newsworthiness of photos. And there’s always the tough balancing act we face when dealing with stars who exploit their children one day and complain about loss of privacy the next.”

Shepard was also ecstatic about the magazine’s “classy” announcement, tweeting that he “woke up to the BEST NEWS! @peoplemag is joining the fight against #pedorazzi with a #NoKidsPolicy !!!!”

His wife also tweeted that she was looking forward to her next interview with the popular magazine.

“i’ll be proud do my next interview w/ @peoplemag & I’m planning something special around #veronicamarsmovie w/@justjared ! #nokidspolicy,” she wrote.

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