Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 10: Georgia Booking Photo Privacy Protection Act; enact
Last action April 4, 2025 · House Withdrawn, Recommitted
House Bill 10 would generally bar Georgia law enforcement agencies from publicly releasing or posting arrest booking photographs until a person is convicted, while creating new rules and penalties for websites that publish mugshots for profit.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19), arresting agencies have some limits on booking photo disclosure, but this bill tightens them significantly. It would prohibit an arresting agency from releasing to the public or posting a booking photograph on a public website unless and until the person shown has been convicted of the offense for which they were booked, with exceptions for the sex offender registry, certain publications required under other titles, law enforcement administrative use, and legitimate news media. News organizations can still get booking photos if a representative submits a sworn statement affirming compliance with the law and disclosing the outlet's names, but lying on that statement is a crime. Separately, the bill bars companies whose business is publishing mugshots from charging a fee to remove them, requires removal within ten days of a written request, and lets individuals sue for injunctions with civil penalties of $1,000 to $5,000 per day for noncompliance, paid into the state treasury.
What the bill does
- Prohibits an arresting law enforcement agency from releasing to the public or posting a booking photograph to a public website until the depicted individual is convicted, with listed exceptions.
- Allows news media representatives to obtain booking photos if they submit a statement affirming compliance and disclosing the outlet's legal and trade names.
- Makes it a crime under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20 (false statements) to lie on a request statement for a booking photograph.
- Bans mugshot publishers from charging a fee to remove a booking photograph and requires removal within ten calendar days of a proper written request.
- Creates a civil lawsuit allowing individuals to seek a court injunction against continued publication, with penalties of $1,000 per day for a first violation and $5,000 per day if the photo is republished after removal.
- Exempts law enforcement 'be on the lookout' notices and exigent investigative circumstances from the removal and publication rules.
Who it affects
Arrested individuals whose booking photos would otherwise circulate online, Georgia sheriffs' offices and police departments that release booking photos, news media organizations seeking mugshots for reporting, and commercial mugshot websites that publish or remove photos for a fee.
Why it matters
People arrested but not yet convicted would generally have their booking photos kept out of public postings, potentially limiting reputational harm from an arrest alone. Commercial mugshot sites that profit from posting and removing photos would face new removal deadlines and financial penalties for noncompliance, up to $5,000 per day for repeat violations.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19(b) to bar agencies from releasing or posting booking photographs publicly before conviction, except for the sex offender registry, certain statutory publications, law enforcement administrative use, and qualifying news media.
- New subsection (c) sets out how news media representatives can request booking photographs, requiring a sworn statement about compliance and disclosure of the organization's legal and trade names.
- Subsection (d) requires non-media requesters to submit a compliance statement, with false statements punishable under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20.
- New subsection (e) bars entities that publish booking photographs from charging fees to remove them and requires removal within ten calendar days of a proper written request sent by registered mail.
- New subsection (f) creates a civil action for injunctive relief, with penalties of $1,000 per day for initial noncompliance and $5,000 per day for republishing a removed photo, plus attorney's fees and court costs.
- Subsection (g) limits the removal and penalty rules to entities that charge removal fees or whose primary business is publishing booking photographs for profit.
- Subsection (h) exempts 'be on the lookout' notices and exigent law enforcement investigations from the Code section's restrictions.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“an arresting law enforcement agency or agent thereof shall not release to the public or post booking photographs to or on a public website a booking photograph unless and until the individual depicted in such booking photograph is convicted of the offense for which such booking photograph was taken.”
“No person or entity engaged in the business of publishing or otherwise disseminating through a publicly accessible print or electronic medium booking photographs of individuals who have been arrested shall solicit or accept a fee or other form of payment to remove such booking photographs”
“The court shall impose a civil penalty of $1,000.00 per day for noncompliance with such injunction and shall award reasonable attorney's fees and court costs”
Status timeline
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Kim Schofield (D, HD-63)
- Viola Davis (D, HD-87)
- Sandra Scott (D, HD-76)
- Derrick Jackson (D, HD-68)
Topics
- booking photos
- mugshot websites
- criminal justice privacy
- news media access
- civil penalties