Smile, you are under arrest: the misappropriation and misuse of mug shots online

Abstract

Anyone can get arrested: a retired woman who volunteers at a local animal shelter, a loving father and middle school teacher, a circuit court judge, or a straight ‘A’ student attending an Ivy League college. A mug shot is part of the arrest process and these pictures are published on the arresting agency's website and are public records. A problem arises, however, when arrestees' mug shots are ‘scraped’ from arresting agencies websites and republished on private mug shot websites. Regardless of the severity of the crime, or whether charges were even filed by the State, after a simple online search of an arrestee's name, his mug shot displays at the top of online search results, every time. This ‘criminal’ then finds himself explaining to family members and employers about his arrest. He must pay each private company to have his mug shot removed. Not only is this expensive, but new mug shot sites scrape mug shots from arresting agencies every day. It is impossible for an arrestee to prevent his mug shot from appearing at the top of online search results. This paper demonstrates that these private companies are taking advantage of public records laws and are violating the rights of arrestees.