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.
ProPublica found similar web trackers that capture user data on the sites of at least nine online pharmacies that offer abortion pills by mail, including Abortion Ease, BestAbortionPill.com, PrivacyPillRX, PillsOnlineRX, Secure Abortion Pills, AbortionRx, Generic Abortion Pills, Abortion Privacy, and Online Abortion Pill Rx.
Representatives for Google and the Los Angeles and New York Police Departments, two of the largest police forces in the country, did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.
She said because the platforms themselves are unlikely to prioritize user privacy, the burden to do so falls on the individual user. »
