Today in TechMug shot websites will make your unflattering picture searchable, charge you to remove it
It's not something you're likely to admit, but you've probably hopped on to a search engine and queried your own name once or twice before. It's ok, we've all done it, but if you have a not-so-clean past, you might have found a few unsightly results. In fact, if you have a mug shot on file with a government agency, there's a number of sites that want to make your face the top search result. Wired.com's Threat Level took a look at how this new industry is milking big bucks out of everyday citizens.
Some states' transparency laws are broader than others, making these sites a hot spot for job searchers looking to find dirt on potential employees. Florida is one such state, and the site Florida Arrests is one of the top mug shot galleries on the internet. Arrestees can be searched by name, age, and arrest date, and once found, their pictures and charges are available for all to see.
But all is not lost, as there are plenty of services available that will swiftly remove your face from these slanderous websites, taking search results and possible job-killing information along with it. And while these mug shot galleries and "reputation companies" would appear to be fighting against each other, there's more going on behind the scenes than most realize.
Florida Arrests sells the ability to remove a mug shot from its ranks to reputation services — like RemoveSlander — for between $10 and $20. RemoveSlander then charges a beefy $700 to the person who originally requested its removal. And it's not exactly back-breaking work; a simple PayPal payment to Florida Arrests allows RemoveSlander and other reputation services to wipe any mug from the database with the click of a button.
The growing business of mugshot posting and removal can only exist because of public records transparency laws like the ones in Florida and several other states. Making these pictures instantly available online might offer an extra bit of safety for those looking to do an at-home background check, but it's also allowing a select few to make money off of people whose cases might even have been thrown out.
More from Tecca:
