Thoughts on the Online Extortion Business of Mugshots (opens in new tab)

(blog.safeshepherd.com)

15 pointsnoahrsg13y ago9 comments

9 comments

4 comments · 2 top-level

grecy13y ago· 2 in thread

I'm surprised there are not more sites like mugshots.com. Moral considerations aside, it seems like a sure fire money winner.

I wonder how many states/countries make arrest records & mugshots available publicly online?

For every arrest/mug shot, do some basic SEO stuff with the person's name, city and state to have the best chance of hitting the first page of Google, and charge people $50 to get it removed.

I've never been arrested, but if I was (even if in error), I'd sure as hell pay $50 to get my mugshot off the front page of a Google search.

noahrsgOP13y ago

Thanks for the feedback. It is a sure fire money maker "moral considerations aside" but I think thats the point...I have moral considerations and hence why I am calling this site out for being so slimy.

grecy13y ago

I have to wonder what "moral considerations aside" even means.

In the US, at least, if something is not illegal and will make money, then corporations are legally required to take that path - morals and ethics simply don't come into play.

As our ever increasing need for profit increases, I can only see this trend continuing more and more. The reality is if I'm not willing to make such a site on "moral" grounds, someone else will, and they'll get all the money for doing it.

3 more replies

majorlazer13y ago

I was arrested earlier this year for trespassing into an abandoned area, it was a group of about 10 of us just exploring and trying to get some pictures. Normally, the cops would just let you off with a warning, but the security patrolling this area wanted everybody taken in. It was a very annoying experience and really was a waste of tax-payer money. But once we were released ~7 hours later, we didn't really think much of the arrest (rightfully so, the judge laughed at the case when we went to court).

Now, the worst part of the whole experience was when we found our mugshots plastered all over search results for our names. The results rank pretty high in some cases too, higher than some social media sites. The problem with this whole situation lies in two places in my opinion, one being the fact that your mugshot is posted online right when you get arrested, whether or not you are convicted. And two, that there aren't any restrictions put in place by the government sites that release these pictures. I am all for net neutrality, but this is most definitely an invasion of privacy.

And there are so many of these mugshot sites that you will never be able to completely remove your face from every single one of them. And I wouldn't be surprised if the same asshole owns a majority of these sites and puts your mugshot on a different site as soon as you pay to get it taken off another.

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