Christopher MimsMar 5, 2023

This is not a drill.

The nightmare scenario for personal privacy in a world where women are stripped of their reproductive rights is coming to pass:

Meta, Google, other tech companies are providing police with evidence to help prosecute women who seek or perform abortions

https://www.businessinsider.com/police-getting-help-social-media-to-prosecute-people-seeking-abortions-2023-2

Facebook, Google give police data to prosecute abortion seekers

Social-media sites are inundated with police requests for user data and may cooperate even if not legally required to, one legal expert told Insider.

Business Insider
Show threadAlex StamosMar 5, 2023

@mimsical This is not a great article and the headline is egregious. The need to make every article boil down to "tech companies bad" obfuscates the core issue and therefore the potential responses..

The real, but less clickworthy headline would be "Prosecutors and judges are using the law to go after women getting abortions".

Tech companies can't just "turn over" data, they have to comply with ECPA/SCA, which requires a signed warrant* for content.

*Offer does not apply to FAA702

Show threadDavid ThielMar 5, 2023
@alex @mimsical If there is any fault with the article, it’s that it doesn’t focus on solutions — its description of the problem is entirely accurate, and it’s a problem that the public needs to be aware of. It also acknowledges that Meta has few legal options. Of all of the possible concerns here, “it makes tech companies look bad” is just not one that matters.
Show threadAlex StamosMar 5, 2023
@det @mimsical The one redeeming part of the article is quoting Eric Goldman. All of the discussion I've seen on it so far is based upon the incorrect assumption that the companies can voluntarily turn off the spigot, so certainly the article has not had the effect of improving the quality of this conversation.
Show threadDavid Thiel
@alex @mimsical I mean, you literally just detailed several ways they could turn off the spigot, which was spurred by the article bringing attention to the issue. I’m not seeing the downside here.
Mar 5, 2023 at 8:57pmWeb