Legislators consider bill requiring news outlets to update crime stories
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Posted on 1/16/2020 by
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Publicity comes part and parcel with most major arrests: a mug shot, a press release, and an article in the newspaper or a report on the nightly news.

But in the age of the internet, that article has an enduring shelf-life a lot longer than decades ago. For those whose charges are dropped or are later exonerated, that arrest can live forever in Google search results.

This year, one representative is trying to legislate a change to that scenario. A bill by Jack Flanagan, a Brookline Republican, would require news outlets to update all online articles about people in the judicial system if they were acquitted, found not guilty, or had their charges dropped.

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