‘Delete Facebook’ trends after they gave law enforcement chat messages, which led to abortion charges

“Delete Facebook” started trending on Tuesday August 9th following a report from Forbes that revealed direct messages on the app were used to bring charges against a 17-year-old girl for reportedly having an illegal abortion.

Forbes alleged that both the teenager, who will be tried as an adult, and her mom, 41, were charged in July “with allegedly removing, concealing, or abandoning a dead human body,” which is a felony. Two other misdemeanors were also added to the charge sheet, these being false reporting and concealing the death of another person.

At a later date, the girl’s mom was additionally charged with “performing or attempting an abortion on a pregnancy at more than 20 weeks and performing an abortion as a non-licensed doctor.”

Forbes reported that the Norfolk Police Department “received a tip claiming [the teen] had miscarried in April at 23 weeks of pregnancy and secretly buried the fetus with her mother’s help.” The teenage girl in question and her mom have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The girl also claimed that she had a miscarriage. 

Facebook provided a statement to Glamour in an attempt “to set the record straight.” Facebook said in the statement: “We received valid legal warrants from local law enforcement on June 7, before the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The warrants did not mention abortion at all. Court documents indicate that police were at that time investigating the alleged illegal burning and burial of a stillborn infant. The warrants were accompanied by non-disclosure orders, which prevented us from sharing information about them. The orders have now been lifted.”

However, the incident caused many to lash out against Facebook for their cooperation with law enforcement. “Every woman should delete Facebook right now,” said Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old Texas-based activist.

Digital Strategist Sean Wiggs tweeted that Facebook “has shown they will compromise your privacy at any chance they get.”