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Committee hears bill to restrict release of booking photos and target pay‑to‑remove websites
Summary
Representatives presented a substitute to House Bill 10 to limit law‑enforcement release of arrest booking photos for people not convicted and to make it easier to remove images from third‑party pay sites; the ACLU testified it supports the policy on constitutional grounds.
Representative Kim Schofield presented a substitute for House Bill 10 that would restrict law‑enforcement agencies from posting or providing arrest booking photos for people not convicted of a crime to commercial ‘remove‑for‑pay’ websites, and would make it easier for those individuals to have images removed.
The bill’s sponsor and supporters said the measure targets predatory businesses that publish mugshots and charge fees to remove them, often harming people who were never convicted. Christopher Bruce, policy director for the ACLU of Georgia, told the committee the ACLU supports the bill after legal review; he cited a February 2024 Ninth Circuit decision finding that posting mugshots pretrial can amount to unconstitutional pretrial punishment in a Maricopa County case.
The sponsor said the substitute preserves a newsworthy exception for legitimate journalistic reporting while targeting commercial clearinghouses that profit from posting images. Committee members discussed language tightening the news‑worthiness exception; supporters said other states have enacted similar protections and that the bill balances public‑record access with protections against reputational harm.
No vote was recorded on the bill during the session; sponsors said they would return with amendments and noted they had worked with stakeholders to refine the language.
