Meta Hands Over Teen's Messages to Police in Landmark Abortion Prosecution
Meta provides a Nebraska teenager's private Facebook messages to law enforcement, leading to severe felony charges related to a suspected abortion. The data handover occurs despite the lack of initial evidence beyond the improper disposal of a miscarried fetus.
Meta provides private Facebook messages to Nebraska police that lead directly to the felony prosecution of a 17-year-old girl for alleged crimes related to an abortion. Instead of challenging the legal order, the company hands over the teenager's direct messages, photos, and other data to a detective who claims to investigate the improper disposal of a miscarried fetus.
The detective initially investigates the incident under the guise of "Prohibited Acts with Skeletal Remains" after the girl buries a fetus in a plastic bag. Although an autopsy confirms the fetus is stillborn and never takes a breath, the detective uses the Meta data to find messages where the girl discusses taking abortifacient medication, which gives police the probable cause they previously lack.
Armed with this new information, police raid the family's home to seize multiple electronic devices and now charge the teenager as an adult with serious felonies including performing an illegal abortion and concealing a dead body. Critics point out that this aggressive prosecution relies entirely on data surrendered by Meta rather than actual physical evidence of a crime.