Mugshots.com Where is MY justice??? Internet

Class Action Against Mugshot Websites
http://counselor.pro/articles/class-action-against-mugshot-websites

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Exceeds authorized access, and obtains information from a protected computer (18 USC 1030).

Transfers (screen scraping), possesses and uses (website), a means of identification mugshots (18 USC 1028A).

Steals public records, knowingly converts public records to his use and the use of others. Sells public records without authority.  Retains public records knowing they have been stolen (18 USC 641).

National Information Infrastructure Protection Act : Transmits advantages to foreign nations.

Criminally infringes name and likeness copyrights for the purpose of commercial advantage (website) and private financial gain (18 USC 2319 and 17 USC 506). Governmental Prima Facie Evidence of name and likeness copyright: State Certified Birth Certificate, State Drivers License, US Passport and other government documents and records created to identify and validate name and likeness.

Holds to involuntary servitude by electronic means (18 USC 1584).

Stalks, harasses, intimidates and causes substantial emotional distress (18 USC 2261A).

Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act : Intentionally obtains and transmits to another person information with the intent to defraud (unpublish/repair reputation).

Transmits communication interstate with the intent to injure reputation to extort (unpublish/repair reputation), (18 USC 875).

As consideration for not informing demands money (unpublish/repair reputation), (18 USC 873).

Interstate collection of an unlawful debt (unpublish/repair reputation), (18 USC 1962).

A person(s) who receives, possesses, conceals, or disposes of any blackmail (unpublish/repair reputation) money (18 USC 880).

Search engines, hosting , reputation repair and consumer complaint companies aids and abets (18 USC 2), conceals felonies (18 USC 4).


Criminal Resource Manual 1663
Protection Of Public Records and Documents. The taking of a public record or document is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 641.
DOJ. Retrieved from
http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01663.htm

I don't know if to laugh or cry. This is from their blog's section on their website.

Mugshots and Social Responsibility

Mugshots from arrest records are a popular way of getting readers because they have a high consumer appeal; however, many people wrongly argue that publishing them is socially irresponsible. There is no ethical dilemma when it comes to publishing mugshots. At its simplest, a mugshot is nothing more than a visual description of an arrestee. Media ethics or moral principles are an open social concept of what is right and wrong that is mostly voluntarily applied by a publisher based on the organizations values. Thus, the conscience of the journalist or the news media outlet will largely determine where they set their ethics bar in regards to social responsibility for the publication of mugshots. As the maxim goes, with great power, comes great responsibility. This is especially true of when applied to publishers.


Publishing mugshots is completely legal and protected by various state and federal laws, yet recently publishers of this type of content have come under intense scrutiny, mainly because arrestees dont like to see their names and faces in the news. Mugshots.com believes that the newsworthiness of each arrest record requires that it be reported in the publics interest. What good are public records that no one sees? In Mugshots.coms view, no one is above the law, so the goal is to do the right thing consistently with every entry within The Mugshots.com Database, not just when it is convenient. Moreover, Mugshots.com seeks to present balanced information about the accused and to that extent, works hard to provide supporting links to the entries in its database as well as the ability of users to add comments to reflect the present time.


Publishing mugshots of criminals, fugitives, sex offenders and others provides a genuine public service, especially when the publisher tries to provide as much information as possible about the circumstances of the arrest. At times a publisher may only offer names and charges of the accused without any further details. Mugshots.com tries to provide a detailed summary of the incident leading up to the arrest and any other information whenever possible. This is the socially responsible thing to do, as well as a valuable public service, because it provides the public with context and specifics that they can use.


Socially responsible publishers like Mugshots.com work hard to present the stories of the accused fairly and accurately. We are mindful at all times that the individuals in the database are innocent until proven guilty. Mugshots are part of the arrest record and confer no greater guilt than the arrest itself. It's unfortunate that the stigma is that the accused is already tainted by public opinion from the moment that they are first arrested, even if later they are acquitted. By publishing any and all arrest records, Mugshots.com and other publishers hope to further educate the masses that an arrest is not a conviction.


As the Mugshots.com Unpublishing Policy details, Mugshots.com operates on a strict no solicitation policy where we will never proactively contact the people in the database about unpublishing services. Most people who contact Mugshots.com to request unpublishing are not falsely accused individuals, but rather people who are trying to hide their past by reducing the accessibility of their public arrest record. Given the nature of the crimes some people are accused of, it is socially irresponsible to unpublish their arrest records. In the instance where a request to unpublish is approved under the Mugshots.com unpublishing policy, it is a goodwill gesture or courtesy that Mugshots.com has elected to undertake, not any other sort of obligation. At no time Mugshots.com is required to unpublish arrest records that are legally in the public domain.


Everyday publishers grapple with what is the ethical thing to do when they receive requests to unpublish arrest records and stories that were accurate at the time that they were published. That is why having policies in place that can be consistently followed are so important. It is not just a matter of the accused privacy rights or embarrassment; but rather a matter of credibility and accountability. News reports about criminal cases reflect the facts released, observed and filed as part of the case from arrest onward, and as such are truthful and accurate. It is a historical snapshot of events unfolding so media ethics demand that publishers be socially responsible and rightly deny requests to unpublish accurate arrests and criminal charges. If there is an error, it can and should be corrected immediately with an acknowledgement. Once such records are published on the Internet, they are generally indexed by search engines in order to appear in search results.


It is easy for the average person to complain about unethical or irresponsible journalism when the person does not understand what responsible journalism is. Unethical journalism encompasses actions like spreading gossip, inciting panic, ignoring facts, and refusing any accountability for its reporting. Mugshots.com does none of these things. As a socially responsible publisher, Mugshots.com uses its powerful position to ensure appropriate delivery of balanced information to its readers.


Mugshots.com believes that legislation to regulate mugshot usage is unnecessary. The publication of mugshots should remain self-regulated since that is the best way to emphasize transparency and accountability while meeting public expectations. Leading sites like Mugshots.com are intimately familiar with the challenges and changing circumstances regarding mugshot usage that require new solutions; thus, they are best able to self-police in order to offer quick, flexible, low-cost dispute-resolution procedures without government interference. Mugshots.com tends to promote ethical behavior, good practices and solutions for specific compliance problems. It is a model to be followed and a reflection of what people can expect when dealing with our professional brand.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It seems like everyday now I'm reading a complaint about mugshots. I can understand why. Having a mugshot pull up under your name on google can destroy a person's career and many opportunities. This really is a government problem. Mugshots should not be able to get away with doing this. They are currently being sued however and you need to google it because the lawyer is filing a class action lawsuit and needs people to join. It is extortion. No one should pay to simply have a picture removed from the internet. I too have websites and its all done electronically. It can be done in 30 seconds. Just log into the site and press delete and then press publish. Boom. The picture is gone. Can't believe they are charging $400 dollars for this. 

I fault the laws that say that anything in the court records or police records is public information. I too have been the victim of this and am still dealing with this. My bankruptcy records and judgments and many other embarrassing details of my life are all out there online. Done by a company that does the same thing as mugshots except they don't post pictures.

Also, be careful paying mugshots because I truly believe mugshots own different companies with different names that all do the same thing which is post arrest photos. So as soon as you pay to take it off mugshots, your photo pops up on one of their affiliate sites and the process continues. They take advantage of knowing you really want to have it removed.

Its like one of those SEO companies that Ripoff has listed alerts for that promise to remove negative information about you on-line and then when you pay they bait you in to keep paying by turning around and posting even MORE Negative information!!!! One woman says when she called to have a negative item removed on-line the people turned around and started posting negative items about her children and her husband because they knew she was sensitive to it and then came to her and told her that they had found even more information about the family which would cost even more money and they were the ones who put it out there.

We all have to be very careful. However you should not have to pay Mugshots if you can show that the charges were dropped. I read they "claim" to waive the fee. If they don't you can take them to court for extortion. Also file an on-line complaint with your Attorney General's Consumer Complaint Office. You should be able to do it in a few minutes on-line. 

Good Luck.