Episode 878: Mugshots For Sale
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If you are one of the more than 70 million people who've been arrested in America, you probably have a mugshot. Websites have turned these mugshots into a business, posting mugshots and charging people to take them down.
Planet Money
#878: Mugshots For Sale
If they don't pay up, the mugshot can make it hard to get jobs, dates, housing, even if they were never actually charged or convicted. Some people call it extortion. The websites call it a public service.
Today on the show, we go deep inside the online mugshot industry, where the First Amendment and our right to privacy clash in really complicated ways.
Music: "Psyche Peacock," "Groovy Bassline," and "Blues Prompt."
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