Committee advances bill to limit commercial distribution of arrest images and videos

The Senate Public Safety Committee voted Thursday to advance SB482, a bill intended to curb the monetization and online circulation of arrest images and law-enforcement videos by requiring stronger identification from requesters.

Sponsor Sen. Brian Strickland described the bill as a response to for‑profit websites and channels that harvest booking photos and body-camera footage and publish them for entertainment or to extort money from families. Strickland said the proposal builds on prior Georgia laws from 2013 and 2014 and would require someone requesting an arrest image or video to identify the person sought and submit a notarized, in-person statement when they request the image so those requesters can be identified and prosecuted if they monetize the material.

The measure drew support from county sheriffs and the Georgia Sheriffs Association, who described operational burdens from broad open-records requests (time-consuming redaction and staff hours) and said the bill would help protect victims and reduce scams. Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman and Baldwin County Sheriff Ashley Henson described cases where family members and defendants were harmed by commercial posting of booking photos and offered examples of unresponsiveness by sites that profit from the content.

Press groups and broadcasters urged careful drafting to preserve legitimate press access and public transparency. Reagan Marsh, representing the Georgia Press Association, asked the committee to balance restricting bad actors against maintaining news organizations’ ability to obtain records. The sponsor and committee members said the bill is intended to preserve legitimate open‑records access while adding accountability measures for commercial operators.

Sen. Goodman moved to pass the bill; the vice chairman seconded, and the chair announced the bill passed unanimously on a voice vote.