On June 24, the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion in the United States. Since then, American states have been free to authorize or restrict the possibility of terminating a pregnancy. In Nebraska, it is illegal to terminate a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks. On Monday, August 8, the Governor of Nebraska, Pete Ricketts, lamented in a press release that the senators refused to reduce this term to 12 weeks.
Charges filed after examination of private conversations
In this tense context, a 17-year-old girl is being prosecuted for having terminated her pregnancy in Nebraska after 23 weeks, indicates the local media Lincoln Journal Star. But these accusations were made after the examination of her private conversations transmitted by Facebook to the authorities.
Starting point of the case, the Norfolk police received information about the young woman’s miscarriage in April, explains Forbes. Therefore, charges are filed against Celeste Burgess and her mother, Jessica Burgess. They are accused of having hidden or abandoned a human corpse and of having concealed the death of a person.
During the investigation, authorities sent a search warrant to the Meta group – owner of Facebook and Instagram – to access the teenager’s private conversations. The data received from the platform includes, among other things, information about your account, images, audio and video recordings, as well as private messages, details Bloomberg. It was only after consulting Celeste Burgess’s messages that the charges of illegal abortion were added to the file.
Personal data protection requests
The American media recalls that internet searches, instant messages, emails, geolocation data and phone calls can reveal discussions, purchases or physical visits around an interruption of pregnancy.
By tracking your users, Google or Meta have this information. Elected Democrats and human rights associations had called on the platforms to strengthen the protection of personal data, in the wake of the repeal of the federal right to abortion. But the worst scenario imagined by some has come true.
Meta has denied having participated in an investigation related to an illegal abortion. In a brief statement, the group clarified that the search warrant received on June 7 did not include any mention of a voluntary termination of pregnancy. “Court documents indicate that police were investigating at the time the alleged unlawful cremation and burial of a stillborn child,” the company said.
Unequal positions by the platforms
Given the risks of data collection, Google announced on July 1 that it will remove data linked to the family planning visit. Period tracking apps also plan to protect the personal data of their users. For its part, YouTube has made the decision to remove content that gives instructions on dangerous abortion methods, but also videos that spread false information on the subject.
At the same time, Meta’s behavior is more complicated. In addition to data collection, the Facebook and Instagram platforms removed posts offering to send abortion pills. Within the internal discussions tool, employees have seen their messages regarding the right to abortion removed. That’s when a company memo circulated: “Openly discussing abortion at work poses a greater risk of creating a hostile work environment.”
Source: BFM TV
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