Why is #DeleteFacebook trending?

Content warning: This article may be distressing for some readers.

One of the most well-known and powerful tech companies in the world the Meta Group, responsible for the administration of social media apps Instagram and Facebook, is currently under fire.

But what has caused internet users to spread the hashtag #DeleteFacebook, and has the hashtag had any success?

Why is #DeleteFacebook trending?

An 18 year-old girl and her mother are facing several felony charges over the daughter obtaining an illegal abortion in Nebraska, with court documents revealing that Facebook had provided their private messages between each other to authorities. The messages showed the mother and daughter discussing medications which would allow the pregnancy to be terminated.

The police allege that the 18 year-old had self-managed her abortion after telling police she’d had a miscarriage at 28 weeks, and the evidence was given to police thanks to Facebook’s parent company Meta being served with a search warrant. The pair’s entire message history, search history, and data were given to police which showed they had planned to terminate her pregnancy and rid the evidence.

In Nebraska, it’s illegal to get an abortion after 20 weeks unless there is life endangerment for the birthing parent, and the state did not have a trigger law to outlaw all abortion after the contentious Roe v. Wade overturn. The police had been tipped off, according to Motherboard, in late April that the then 17 year-old had miscarried before they launched an investigation.

The detective in charge of the case then issued the search warrant to Facebook after learning the daughter had Facebook’s Messenger app installed, an app that is used by 1.3 billion people per month.

Motherboard acquired the court documents, and published the information around the case on Aug. 9; two months after Meta gave the message history to detectives. The mother and daughter are facing a felony charge of removing, concealing or abandoning a dead human body, and two misdemeanors: concealing the death of another person, and false reporting.

Reproductive rights in America are still under fire, and with Meta now being issued warrants for people’s messages, it sets a dangerous precedent for citizens in an increasingly internet-powered world.

#DeleteFacebook began trending almost immediately after Motherboard published the story, with many renewed requests for end-to-end encryption of Messenger, and for increased digital rights.

Facebook and its linked services are used by so many people around the world, and it’s distressing that what should be private communication is able to be used against you in court. What’s next, Snapchat recording a snap sent to a friend of someone drinking underage? Authorities being given access to who you date on dating apps?

#DeleteFacebook will likely not result in a major change, but it does spark an important discussion around how big tech companies can look to take sides in human rights issues.