A Georgia lawmaker is drafting a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would crack down on those companies that publish mug shots and then charge people to have them removed.

The proposed legislation by Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) would make it a criminal and civil offense to profit off of public information.

Many complain once those pictures surface, whether the person has been convicted or not, it is near impossible to have them completely disappear.

Defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Brian McEvoy tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish some consider the current practice extortion.

“The only reason these companies have come about is they found a niche where they can take advantage of publically available information and make money,” he says.

McEvoy suggests another way to curb the practice is for law enforcement to remove from its database mug shots of people who have either been acquitted or had their charges dropped.

“I think you need to balance sort of the public’s right to know about potentially dangerous alleged criminals… with the privacy rights of individuals,” he says.