Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1398
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-01377-21                                           20211398__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to dissemination of arrest booking
    3         photographs; amending s. 901.43, F.S.; prohibiting the
    4         republishing or redissemination of certain arrest
    5         booking photographs; authorizing a person whose arrest
    6         booking photograph is republished or redisseminated to
    7         bring a civil action against the person or entity
    8         republishing or redisseminating the photograph if such
    9         person or entity was required to remove it from the
   10         publication or electronic medium; authorizing a court
   11         to impose a specified civil penalty; requiring a court
   12         to award reasonable attorney fees and court costs;
   13         requiring that recovered civil penalties be deposited
   14         into the General Revenue Fund; providing that
   15         republishing or redisseminating an arrest booking
   16         photograph under certain circumstances constitutes an
   17         unfair or deceptive trade practice; making technical
   18         changes; providing an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 901.43,
   23  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   24         901.43 Dissemination of arrest booking photographs.—
   25         (2) A person whose arrest booking photograph is published
   26  or otherwise disseminated, or his or her legal representative,
   27  may make a request, in writing, for the removal of an arrest
   28  booking photograph to the registered agent of the person or
   29  entity who published or otherwise disseminated the photograph.
   30  The written request for removal of the arrest booking photograph
   31  must be sent by registered mail and include sufficient proof of
   32  identification of the person whose arrest booking photograph was
   33  published or otherwise disseminated and specific information
   34  identifying the arrest booking photograph that the written
   35  request is seeking to remove. Within 10 calendar days after of
   36  receipt of the written request for removal of the arrest booking
   37  photograph, the person or entity who published or otherwise
   38  disseminated the photograph shall remove the arrest booking
   39  photograph without charge and may not republish or redisseminate
   40  it.
   41         (3)(a) The person whose arrest booking photograph was
   42  published or otherwise disseminated in the publication or
   43  electronic medium may bring a civil action to enjoin the
   44  continued publication or dissemination of the photograph if the
   45  photograph is not removed within 10 calendar days after receipt
   46  of the written request for removal. The court may impose a civil
   47  penalty of $1,000 per day for noncompliance with an injunction
   48  and shall award reasonable attorney fees and court costs related
   49  to the issuance and enforcement of the injunction. Moneys
   50  recovered for civil penalties under this paragraph section shall
   51  be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
   52         (b) If a person or an entity in compliance with the
   53  requirements of this section was required to remove an arrest
   54  booking photograph and then republishes it or otherwise
   55  redisseminates it in the publication or electronic medium, the
   56  person whose photograph is republished or redisseminated may
   57  bring a civil action to enjoin the continued republishing or
   58  redissemination of the photograph. The court may impose a civil
   59  penalty of $5,000 per day for noncompliance with an injunction
   60  and shall award reasonable attorney fees and court costs related
   61  to the issuance and enforcement of the injunction. Moneys
   62  recovered for civil penalties under this paragraph shall be
   63  deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
   64         (4) Refusal to remove an arrest booking photograph after
   65  written request has been made or republishing or redisseminating
   66  an arrest booking photograph constitutes an unfair or deceptive
   67  trade practice in accordance with part II of chapter 501.
   68         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.