CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Laura was 15 years old and having a mental health crisis. She had been sexually assaulted by her father. She was angry; she was suicidal. She lashed out at her mother, and the outburst turned into what police called a domestic assault. Both Laura and her mother, Nancy (their real names are not being used to protect Laura’s privacy) were arrested and booked into Montgomery County Jail.
Within days, Nancy’s name was published on the local website Clarksville Today. Nancy was embarrassed, with friends calling and co-workers asking questions. But what haunts the family to this day is that 15-year-old Laura’s name was also published.
“It was humiliating to my daughter,” Nancy said. “People at her school found out and were bullying her, on top of what she was already going through mentally. … She would come home crying afterwards.”
Who’s running Clarksville Today social sites?
Normally, in a situation such as this, Nancy would be able to contact the site owner with a take-down request, which the media organization would consider depending on a variety of factors, including the severity of the crime, whether the charge was dismissed and expunged, and whether the person charged was a public figure.
But today, there’s no one to ask: Jason Steen died Oct. 11, 2024, of heart failure at age 44, taking his online passwords to his grave.
His arrest report websites, including Clarksville Today (formerly Scoop Clarksville), Scoop Nashville and Clarksville Arrests, mysteriously disappeared a few weeks after his death, and some have hinted that a “white hat” hacker was responsible for getting rid of them.
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But Steen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have proven more durable. Apparently, he didn’t pass along the Meta account passwords to any family or friends, and his employees appear to have walked away, many following earlier complaints filed with the state that he failed to pay them.
A year and a half after his death, thousands of social media posts about those arrested, along with the identities of their victims, continue to pop up in search results, haunting those involved long past the resolution of their cases.
Clarksville Today is not affiliated in any way with Clarksville Now or 5 Star Media Group.
$1,000 ‘fee’ to take down posts
Donovan Tatro got a call one day from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. He was surprised to hear there was a warrant out for his arrest. He said an ex-girlfriend had had a set of boudoir photos of herself compiled into a photo album, and someone put the album on her new boyfriend’s truck. The ex-girlfriend blamed Tatro, and she filed charges. Tatro said he had security camera video that proved he was at home all day, and the charges were dismissed.
What happened next was unexpected sticker shock. When Tatro called Clarksville Today asking them to take down the article since the charges were dismissed, they told him it would cost over $1,000. Tatro said he didn’t have that kind of money – all he wanted was to correct the record. They tried to bargain with him, telling him that for $500 they could update the article to say the charges were dismissed.
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This takedown fee was corroborated by an unnamed former Clarksville Today employee who said Steen handled all the takedown requests, and the base “fee” Steen charged for takedown was $1,000. “Beyond that, it depended on the person and if he thought they had money or not,” the former employee said.
Steen was open about his business model. In an August 2019 Twitter post, he said he “publishes mugshots (removal revenue) in 5 other states that allow it.”
Steen’s takedown fee practice cost him a lawsuit judgment in Kentucky, where the practice is illegal. It remains legal in Tennessee.
Victim’s private life exposed
It wasn’t just those arrested whose names were exposed. David, whose real name is not being used, was caught in the middle of some drama when a woman he previously dated showed up at his house, attacked him and vandalized the vehicle of a woman who was staying there. The woman was arrested. Clarksville Today reported on the incident, including David’s name and address.
David found out about it when about 20 people he knew shared the Instagram post with him.
“I wonder how many other people have been minding their business, had something happen to them like that and all of a sudden they’re locally famous now,” David said. “It was unnecessary exposure to my personal life.”
Employer tagged, questions keep coming
Steen also had a practice of naming, even tagging, people’s employers. Faye, whose real name is not being used, was arrested on a DUI charge in 2023. She spent 12 hours in jail, but said she tested well below the .08 legal limit. The judge dismissed the charge.
“I felt vindicated, only to see that Jason Steen’s exploitative business had not only posted my mugshot, but had hyped up the charges,” Faye said. “I was guilty in their eyes.”
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Clarksville Today also tagged her employer, and she almost lost her job. People have continued to ask her about the charges years later, and she continues to have to explain, reliving the incident. Faye said a lawyer told her that with Steen gone, the only way to get the post taken down would be to file a lawsuit against Steen’s estate.
How do you remove a dead person’s social media?
There is a potential solution: Meta allows family members of the deceased Facebook or Instagram account owner to submit a request for the page to be taken down. They require two pieces of documentation: An obituary or death certificate, and a document showing a close relationship to the deceased.
In April 2020, Diane (not her real name) was accused in a criminal incident in which the charge was dismissed and expunged a year later. But the mugshot and charge are still there. “I’ve always been a compliant, square, rule-follower,” Diane said. And yet, “one of the worst days of my life has been immortalized on the Internet.”
Diane said Steen’s family ought to do everything they can to take down the social media sites. “If that was my loved one and the legacy they left behind, I would want that removed. And I feel like the family is almost complicit by not standing up and taking action doing something about this.”
Clarksville Now has reached out to Steen’s family on whether they’re willing to explore possible solutions. After some initial discussions, they have stopped responding.
Does Meta endorse pay-to-remove content pages?
If the family is unable or unwilling to remove the content, couldn’t Facebook and Instagram delete the accounts? Clarksville Now reached out to Meta, the owner of the platforms, with background on the situation and the following questions:
- Does Meta endorse or allow the practice of an account holder charging people a fee for the removal of potentially harmful content from Facebook and Instagram pages?
- Since the owner of these accounts/sites has died and the abandoned sites are causing ongoing harm to hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people, is Meta willing to take down the accounts/sites? If not, why not?
- If Meta will not take down these accounts/sites, what recourse is available for those whose charges have been dismissed and expunged, for crime victims exposed in the reports, and for minors whose names have been exposed in the reports?
Three weeks after the inquiry, Meta has not responded.
‘I don’t want anyone to Google her and see that’
Laura, the minor who was exposed by Steen when she was 15, is now 17 years old, still dealing with mental health issues, and is staying in an institution. “I tell her you’re not a victim – you’re a survivor,” her mother Nancy said.
“I don’t want anyone to Google her and see that,” Nancy said. “It’s really sad to live in a community where you don’t really feel protected. It’s really sad being from here and loving the place that I live in, but to be publicly humiliated, and it was just perfectly fine, and nobody cared.”
Steen’s death – and inaction from anyone who can help – makes it even more complicated to prevent future damage to her daughter. “Facebook just let (Steen) do whatever he wanted to do.”
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