Platform Facebook became entangled in an abortion-related accusation in the United States after a court order required the platform to enable a private conversation between two defendants, which was then shared with the accusees.
Reported by NBC News on a Tuesday, the investigation started in April in Nebraska, a state where voluntary termination of pregnancy is illegal after 20 weeks.
Both defendants, Jessica Burgess and Celeste Burgess, were involved. Prosecutors allege that the mother provided abortion pills to her teenage daughter and assisted in concealing the fetus’s burial.
speech Facebook Messenger
The Madison County Court began examining a two-page exchange on Facebook Messenger from April 20 that discussed the purchase and use of the pills.
In the messages, the mother explains that one pill slows hormone activity and that the second pill should be taken after a 24-hour wait, noting that an order had already been placed a month earlier.
“Remember that we burned the evidence when it was all over,” Celeste replies, expressing relief at the prospect of wearing jeans again soon. The two were indicted in July and pleaded not guilty.
The investigation moved forward when a woman who claimed to be Celeste’s friend told authorities she had witnessed the teen taking the first pill in April, according to Norfolk Police Detective Ben McBride.
Further testimony indicated that the abortion occurred while the teenager was 23 weeks pregnant, not long after the pills were taken.
Facebook Messenger provides encrypted conversations that are unreadable by Facebook itself or government officials. This option is available when the chat is conducted in the mobile app and marked private.
Without private settings, Facebook retains most user data on its servers, which means that information could be accessed if compelled by a court order.