Google, Meta, and online pharmacies can be required to turn data over to law enforcement in states where abortion is illegal.
In the immediate aftermath of Roe v. Wade, women were concerned that data from their period-tracking apps could be used to prosecute them for having an abortion. Women and people with uteruses must now be cautious about what they write in chat logs, direct messages, and search bars online.
A report from Insider(Opens in a new tab) notes that ProPublica(Opens in a new tab) found that at least nine online pharmacies that sell abortion medication — Abortion Ease, BestAbortionPill.com, PrivacyPillRX, PillsOnlineRX, Secure Abortion Pills, AbortionRx, Generic Abortion Pills, Abortion Privacy, and Online Abortion Pill Rx — were sharing information like users’ web addresses, relative location, and search data with third-party sites like Google.
This type of exchange makes the data available for discovery as part of law enforcement requests.
However, law enforcement requests are nothing new.
Jessica Burgess(Opens in a new tab) is accused of assisting her daughter in performing an illegal abortion in their home state of Nebraska, according to Insider. Chat logs(Opens in a new tab) provided to law enforcement by Meta that discuss finding abortion medication on Facebook were a key piece of evidence in the case against Burgess. The request for evidence was made prior to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Legally, social media companies are frequently obligated to comply with law enforcement requests for user data. Private user content, such as location, search, or messaging history, must be obtained through a warrant, as opposed to public user content, which can be viewed by anyone and used in a court of law. As of June 2022,(Opens in a new tab) Meta stated that it receives over 200,000 requests for information and complies approximately 76% of the time.
Google announced in 2022 that it would automatically delete the location history of users who visited abortion clinics. When it comes to using data as evidence, Google has stated that it will “oppose demands that are overly broad or otherwise legally objectionable,” but as Mashable’s Alex Perry points out, that statement leaves plenty of wiggle room.
But, according to Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, social media is simply a “pawn” in law enforcement’s larger game of prosecuting women for having abortions.
So, what can you do to reduce your risk? Know that the majority of what you say online can be used against you in abortion prosecution in states where abortion is illegal. Talk to people you trust in person rather than over the phone, text, or social media. In the meantime, here’s how to donate to abortion funds and reproductive justice networks across the country.
