Ada County sheriff won’t pursue effort to take down mugshots from ‘Busted’ website
An Ada County law enforcement agency said it will not continue to pursue legal claims over booking photos after a company that shares the photos online and on social media filed a tort claim that alleged nearly a quarter of a million dollars in lost revenue.
Explore and Develop, LLC, which operates a website and social media pages under the name “Boise Busted,” filed the damages claim against Ada County on March 11 via Boise law firm Stoel Rives. The website and social media pages share arrest booking photographs, or mugshots, from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, which posts the photos and basic arrest information online.
It’s unclear who is behind Explore and Develop or where the company is based. It’s not registered as a business in Idaho, and the company’s attorneys did not respond to a request for more information.
Tort claims are necessary precursors to potential lawsuits against the government. Per Idaho code, government agencies have 90 days to respond to a tort.
The tort claim, which the Idaho Statesman obtained through a public records request, claimed Explore and Develop lost “at least $233,549.80” in advertising revenue when its social media accounts were suspended after the Sheriff’s Office submitted numerous copyright violation takedown notices to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Its Facebook page was still suspended Tuesday, but its Instagram page showed a feed with some select mugshots highlighted.
Lauren Montague, a spokesperson for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, said the agency initially sent a cease-and-desist to the company after it learned the photos were being used on social media and members of the public “were questioning that use.”
Montague said Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford decided not to further pursue copyright complaints against Explore and Develop.
“Although we believed the ACSO has a good-faith basis for our copyright position, the sheriff determined that further litigation would not be an appropriate use of public resources at this time,” Montague said.
Explore and Develop has not filed a lawsuit over the alleged lost advertising revenue, though under Idaho law the company has two years from the date the supposed personal injury occurred or was discovered to do so. The company’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment on its future plans.
Montague said there is no settlement agreement, release or other formal agreement between the county and the company.
