In a major victory for SAG-AFTRA and GLAAD, IMDb has agreed to allow industry professionals to remove their dates of birth, birth names and other demographic information from its IMDb and IMDbPro sites.
SAG-AFTRA long had maintained that publishing actors’ ages without their permission fuels ageism, while GLAAD has argued that publishing transgender persons’ birth names without permission is an invasion of privacy that can put them at risk of discrimination.
Under IMDb’s the new policy — in an agreement worked out with SAG-AFTRA and GLAAD — entertainment industry professionals now can self-submit and/or verify their age/birth year, birth name, alternate names and other demographic information.
They also can choose whether to display that data on the site. “I’m so pleased that IMDb worked closely with us to understand and support the needs of SAG-AFTRA members and all entertainment industry professionals,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “It is the dawn of a new, more collaborative relationship with IMDb and SAG-AFTRA members.
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