You can extort someone by threatening to reveal something, even if revealing that would not be criminal in and of itself. I feel that the distinction here is m

You can extort someone by threatening to reveal something, even if revealing that would not be criminal in and of itself. I feel that the distinction here is mainly that the information is already published -- they're not threatening any action if there's no payment. If they contacted people before posting their mugshots and demanded payment to not publish, then it would be cut and dry.