- Police make requests for social media user data to aid prosecution after a crime has been committed.
- Sometimes, the crime is abortion and social apps are turning over user chat logs and search history.
- One legal expert said social platforms may cooperate with police even if not legally required to.
As abortion bans across the nation are implemented and enforced, law enforcement is turning to social media platforms to build cases to prosecute women seeking abortions or abortion-inducing medication – and online platforms like Google and Facebook are helping.
This spring, a woman named Jessica Burgess and her daughter will stand trial in Nebraska for performing an illegal abortion — with a key piece of evidence provided by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. Burgess allegedly helped her daughter find and take pills that would induce an abortion. The teenage Burgess also faces charges for allegedly illegally disposing of the fetus' remains.
TechCrunch reported internal chat logs were provided to law enforcement officers by the social media company, which indicated the pair had discussed their plan to find the medication through the app.
Source:https://www.businessinsider.com/pol...tm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&r=US&IR=T
