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Cleared of a crime? It doesn’t matter — your mugshot will live forever online, unless you want to cough up hundreds of dollars to have it removed.  Websites like Mugshots.com and Arrests.org have collected millions of mug shots by scraping police department websites, and if innocent arrestees want their photos taken down, they have to spend anywhere from $399 to $1,479. The other option is allowing the embarrassing — and potentially career-killing — image to stay near the top of their Google results for years. “It’s legalized extortion, in my opinion,” said Anthony Rickman, a Florida attorney who said he has handled numerous inquiries from clients seeking mug shot removal.

Cleared of a crime? It doesn’t matter — your mugshot will live forever online, unless you want to cough up hundreds of dollars to have it removed. 

Websites like Mugshots.com and Arrests.org have collected millions of mug shots by scraping police department websites, and if innocent arrestees want their photos taken down, they have to spend anywhere from $399 to $1,479.

The other option is allowing the embarrassing — and potentially career-killing — image to stay near the top of their Google results for years.

“It’s legalized extortion, in my opinion,” said Anthony Rickman, a Florida attorney who said he has handled numerous inquiries from clients seeking mug shot removal.

64 Notes

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  6. bookwormbreakfast reblogged this from fastcompany and added:
    I am SHAKING right now I’m so angry. This is vile.
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  10. surfersrule reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    Profiteering off people’s misery - #Sickening - Exonerated suspects forced...photos...
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  19. matthewbartholomewesquire reblogged this from beatyourselfup
  20. mywonderlandofillusions reblogged this from tigertwo1515
  21. cartonplanet reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    This seems so very obviously wrong ….
  22. intellectualtreason reblogged this from fastcompany and added:
    Lolololololol
  23. tigertwo1515 reblogged this from beatyourselfup
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  31. objectivecrizzo said: The people that run mugshot.com should face a firing squad!