Facebook and Internet Crime Investigations

Facebook is one of the largest online platforms in the world, connecting billions of people with family, friends, communities, and businesses. Because it is so widely used, Meta also submits a large number of reports to authorities, as federal law requires, and some of those reports lead to internet crime investigations in the United States. This page gives general background on Facebook, how it works, how many people use it, and how investigations involving Facebook accounts often unfold. For a closer look at how Facebook content is used in court, see the firm’s article on Facebook evidence in criminal cases.

Background and History of Facebook

Facebook launched in 2004 as a social network for Harvard students and opened to the general public in 2006. It grew into a global service for sharing posts, photos, and videos and for messaging friends. In 2021 the parent company changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. Meta also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and the Meta AI assistant, which matters in investigations because the same company may hold records connected to several apps that a person uses.

Facebook Features and Services

Facebook combines a personal profile, a news feed, Groups, Pages, Marketplace, Facebook Live video, Reels, and Facebook Messenger. Messenger is a separate app for private chats, voice calls, and video calls. In December 2023 Meta announced that it was rolling out end-to-end encryption by default for personal messages and calls on Messenger, which limits what Meta itself can read.

How People Use Facebook

Facebook is used legitimately by billions of people around the world, and for most of them it is a valuable part of everyday life. Families share photos and news across long distances, friends plan events, and neighbors organize through community Groups. Small businesses use Pages and Marketplace to reach customers, nonprofits use the platform to raise awareness and support, and schools, local governments, and police and fire departments use Facebook Pages to share announcements and emergency updates with the public. For many people, Facebook is a tool for staying connected both personally and professionally.

How Many People Use Facebook?

According to Meta’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call, Facebook “has reached more than 2 billion daily actives,” and Meta reported that about 3.6 billion people use at least one of its apps each day. Meta has also said that Facebook has more than 3 billion monthly users. In the United States, a 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 71% of U.S. adults say they ever use Facebook, second only to YouTube among the platforms Pew asked about.

How Investigations Involving Facebook Often Begin

Many investigations involving Facebook do not start with a police officer stumbling onto something. They start with a report. Online providers based in the United States are required by federal law to report apparent child sexual abuse material that they become aware of to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which runs the CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews each report, tries to work out where the user is located, and makes reports available to the appropriate law enforcement agency, often an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or a federal agency such as Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. For more on what happens after a report is made, see what a CyberTipline report is and what happens next.

Because Facebook is so widely used, Meta submits a large number of these reports. NCMEC’s 2025 data lists 4,907,710 CyberTipline reports from Facebook, more than any other single service, and Meta as a whole made nearly 11 million reports in 2025, according to a Senate Judiciary Committee release. A large share of reports involve files that matched “hash” fingerprints of previously identified images or videos. Other Facebook investigations begin with a complaint from a parent or another user, or with an undercover officer who creates a profile and waits to be contacted, a common technique in online sting cases.

What Records Facebook May Have and How Police Request Them

When investigators want records from Facebook, they generally have to use legal process. In broad terms, basic account and subscriber information is often requested with a subpoena, more detailed records with a court order, and the content of messages or files with a search warrant, although the exact rules depend on the type of data, the jurisdiction, and the circumstances. Investigators also commonly send a preservation request, which asks the company to hold onto existing records while the legal process is prepared. What a company actually has depends on its products, its retention practices, and the user’s own settings, and those practices change over time.

Meta publishes guidelines for law enforcement describing how it responds to requests. In general terms, the records sought from Facebook can include subscriber information (name, email address, phone number, account creation date), login and IP address history, and, with a search warrant, stored content such as messages, photos, posts, and contacts. Because personal Messenger chats are now end-to-end encrypted by default, the message content Meta can produce may be limited, and investigators often look to the devices themselves. Meta also allows emergency disclosure requests in situations involving an imminent risk of serious harm.

Connecting a Facebook Account to a Person

A record showing that a Facebook account did something is not the same thing as proof that a particular person did it. Investigators typically try to connect an account to a person using things like the email address or phone number used to register, IP addresses from logins, subscriber records from an internet or wireless provider, device identifiers, payment records, and what is found on devices during a search. Each link in that chain can raise questions: shared homes and shared Wi-Fi, devices used by more than one person, VPNs, carrier networks that place many customers behind one IP address, compromised accounts, and gaps in the records. These are the kinds of issues a defense attorney may look at closely, case by case, under current law. The firm discusses this further in how police connect online accounts to a person.

Examples From Reported Cases

The examples below are drawn from public announcements and news reports. They are described generally and without names. Charges are only accusations, and anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. These summaries are not a prediction of how any other case will turn out.

• In 2023, a Homeland Security Investigations agent allegedly posed as a 13-year-old on Facebook as part of an undercover operation in Maine. A Massachusetts man was later accused of sending explicit material to the supposed child and pleaded guilty in 2025. Prosecutors said conversations were recovered from his Facebook account and his phone.
• Facebook reports frequently appear in larger investigations alongside other Meta services. Meta’s nearly 11 million reports in 2025 covered Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products, according to a Senate Judiciary Committee release.

Related Articles on InternetCrime.com

• Platform Investigations: all platforms
• Social Media Crimes and Digital Evidence
• Facebook Evidence in Criminal Cases
• What Is a CyberTipline Report?
• How Police Connect Online Accounts to a Person
• Online Sting Arrests
• Online Solicitation of a Minor
• Child Pornography Defense

If You Are Under Investigation Involving Facebook

If police have contacted you, if a search warrant has been served, or if you believe an investigation involving a Facebook account may be underway, it is important to get legal advice before taking any action on your own. Attorney Ron Frey generally advises speaking with an attorney before answering questions or agreeing to a search. Whether a person may be required to provide a password or unlock a device depends on the circumstances, the jurisdiction, and any search warrant or court order involved, so that decision should be made with an attorney’s advice (see should I provide my password to the police or FBI?).

You have the right to remain silent. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Laws change and vary from state to state and between state and federal court, and the way they apply depends on the specific facts. Please don’t rely on the internet or on AI tools to evaluate your situation. Every case is different, and contacting an attorney is a priority to get tailored advice.

Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC has been practicing law for over two decades and represents people nationally in internet and computer crime investigations and charges. He is a conference speaker and published author.

Attorney Ron Frey Is Available for a Free Initial Confidential Consultation: Call or Text (844) 766-3739. In Florida, call (813) 775-2276. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.

References

• Meta, Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript (July 2026)
• CNBC, “Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users” (Sept. 2025)
• Pew Research Center, “Americans’ Social Media Use 2025” (Nov. 2025)
• NCMEC, “2025 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers (ESP)”
• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, press release on CyberTipline reporting by technology companies (2026)
• Meta, Information for Law Enforcement Authorities
• Meta Newsroom, “Launching Default End-to-End Encryption on Messenger” (Dec. 2023)
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maine, press release on HSI undercover Facebook investigation (2025)
• Wikipedia, “Facebook” (background)

Important: This page provides general information only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a complete or current statement of the law or of any company’s policies. Laws, court decisions, and platform practices change, and their effect depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. User figures and report counts come from the sources listed and may since have changed. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the services discussed; The Frey Law Firm, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. Please don’t rely on this page, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer. Reading this page or contacting The Frey Law Firm, LLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed: October 26, 2026.