In an unusual clash between public privacy rights and intellectual property law, Lego has urged the Murrieta Police Department to cease using their iconic heads to obscure suspects’ faces in social media posts.
The Murrieta Police Department in Southern California has been urged by Lego to cease their practice of using Lego heads to obscure the faces of suspects in mugshots posted on social media. This practice was developed in response to a California law that restricts the sharing of booking photos on social platforms, requiring their removal within 14 days unless exceptional circumstances apply. The law aims to balance public transparency with the privacy rights of individuals.
Lego’s request came after the department’s method of hiding suspects’ identities with Lego heads and emojis garnered viral attention and subsequently public scrutiny. Lego’s concern centered on the use of its intellectual property without permission. In response, the Murrieta Police Department has committed to exploring alternative ways to share content that is both engaging for the community and compliant with the law.
Assemblymember Corey Jackson, the law’s primary sponsor, expressed concerns about the appropriateness of the police department’s use of Lego heads. Jackson questioned whether such practices were a wise use of law enforcement’s time and resources, highlighting the broader issue of ensuring law enforcement agencies comply with the law without exploiting loopholes.
This incident has ignited a wider conversation about the ramifications of traditional law enforcement practices, such as the sharing of mugshots on social media, in the context of digital privacy and the presumption of innocence.
