Florida Mugshot Law: What You Need to Know (Fla. Stat. § 901.43)

       ENROLLED
       2021 Legislature                   CS for SB 1046, 1st Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20211046er
    1  
    2         An act relating to arrest booking photographs;
    3         amending s. 901.43, F.S.; prohibiting the republishing
    4         or redissemination of certain arrest booking
    5         photographs; authorizing a person whose arrest booking
    6         photograph is republished or redisseminated to bring a
    7         civil action against the person or entity republishing
    8         or redisseminating the photograph if such person or
    9         entity was required to remove it from the publication
   10         or electronic medium; authorizing a court to impose a
   11         specified civil penalty; requiring a court to award
   12         reasonable attorney fees and court costs; requiring
   13         that recovered civil penalties be deposited into the
   14         General Revenue Fund; providing that republishing or
   15         redisseminating an arrest booking photograph under
   16         certain circumstances constitutes an unfair or
   17         deceptive trade practice; making technical changes;
   18         expanding the applicability of provisions relating to
   19         the dissemination of arrest booking photographs to
   20         include a person or an entity whose primary business
   21         model is the publishing or disseminating of such
   22         photographs for a commercial purpose or pecuniary
   23         gain; providing an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 901.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   28  read:
   29         901.43 Dissemination of arrest booking photographs.—
   30         (1) Any person or entity engaged in the business of
   31  publishing through a publicly accessible print or electronic
   32  medium or otherwise disseminating arrest booking photographs of
   33  persons who have previously been arrested may not solicit or
   34  accept a fee or other form of payment to remove the photographs.
   35         (2) A person whose arrest booking photograph is published
   36  or otherwise disseminated, or his or her legal representative,
   37  may make a request, in writing, for the removal of an arrest
   38  booking photograph to the registered agent of the person or
   39  entity who published or otherwise disseminated the photograph.
   40  The written request for removal of the arrest booking photograph
   41  must be sent by registered mail and include sufficient proof of
   42  identification of the person whose arrest booking photograph was
   43  published or otherwise disseminated and specific information
   44  identifying the arrest booking photograph that the written
   45  request is seeking to remove. Within 10 calendar days after of
   46  receipt of the written request for removal of the arrest booking
   47  photograph, the person or entity who published or otherwise
   48  disseminated the photograph shall remove the arrest booking
   49  photograph without charge and may not republish or otherwise
   50  redisseminate such photograph.
   51         (3)(a) The person whose arrest booking photograph was
   52  published or otherwise disseminated in the publication or
   53  electronic medium may bring a civil action to enjoin the
   54  continued publication or dissemination of the photograph if the
   55  photograph is not removed within 10 calendar days after receipt
   56  of the written request for removal. The court may impose a civil
   57  penalty of $1,000 per day for noncompliance with an injunction
   58  and shall award reasonable attorney fees and court costs related
   59  to the issuance and enforcement of the injunction. Moneys
   60  recovered for civil penalties under this paragraph section shall
   61  be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
   62         (b) If a person or an entity was required to remove an
   63  arrest booking photograph under this section and later
   64  republishes or otherwise redisseminates the photograph in the
   65  publication or electronic medium, the person whose photograph is
   66  republished or redisseminated may bring a civil action to enjoin
   67  the continued publication or dissemination of the photograph.
   68  The court may impose a civil penalty of $5,000 per day for
   69  noncompliance with an injunction and shall award reasonable
   70  attorney fees and court costs related to the issuance and
   71  enforcement of the injunction. Moneys recovered for civil
   72  penalties under this paragraph shall be deposited into the
   73  General Revenue Fund.
   74         (4) Refusal to remove an arrest booking photograph after
   75  written request has been made or republishing or otherwise
   76  redisseminating an arrest booking photograph after a written
   77  request to remove such photograph has been made constitutes an
   78  unfair or deceptive trade practice in accordance with part II of
   79  chapter 501.
   80         (5) This section does not apply to any person or entity
   81  that publishes or disseminates information relating to arrest
   82  booking photographs unless:
   83         (a) The person or entity solicits or accepts payment to
   84  remove the photographs; or
   85         (b) The person or entity’s primary business model is the
   86  publishing and disseminating of arrest booking photographs for a
   87  commercial purpose or pecuniary gain.
   88         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2021.