At some point some enterprising youts figured out how to scrape public records databases and re-sell the information. It's hardly illegal. It only got into ill

At some point some enterprising youts figured out how to scrape public records databases and re-sell the information. It's hardly illegal. It only got into illegal(ish) territory when they started gaming SEO to shame individuals with criminal records (so your mugshot was the first thing that came up on searches), charging money to de-prioritize those results, and not necessarily following through.