Alabama Law Proposed Regarding Removal Of Arrest Information From Internet
The Alabama legislature has proposed a new Alabama law requiring operators of website containing an arrest photograph and personal information of a person charged with a crime to remove, at no charge, the photograph and information within a specified period after notice that the person was acquitted, the charges were dropped, or the charges were otherwise resolved without conviction. This proposed Alabama law would affect a growing segment of internet webpages which acquire information, names and mugshots of individuals arrested in a given jurisdiction and display them on webpages. The proposed Alabama law addresses the problem of the operators of these websites failing to take the information off the websites when the charges are dropped or the case ends in acquittal.
House Bill 135 was proposed by Representative England, and calls for the failure to remove the photograph and personal information upon request to be treated as a deceptive trade practice. This means that if the operator of the website fails to take down the information, they can be sued under the Alabama Deceptive Trade Practices Act for damages.
