HB135 Summary

• Website operators who publish arrest booking photographs for commercial purposes must remove the photograph and personal information within 30 days of a written request from an individual who was acquitted, had charges dropped, or had charges otherwise resolved without conviction.

• Request must include the individual's name, date of birth, date of arrest, and arresting law enforcement agency, and must be sent via certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the registered agent, principal place of business, or primary residence of the website operator.

• Failure to comply with removal requirements constitutes a deceptive trade practice under Alabama Code Chapter 19, Title 8, and aggrieved individuals are entitled to all remedies including civil penalties under that chapter.

• Website operators who publish arrest photographs in Alabama are deemed to be transacting business in the state regardless of their physical location.

• The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and approval by the Governor.