Meta spars with Oregon shooting suspect over social media privacy before state Supreme Court
Meta spars with Oregon shooting suspect over social media privacy before state Supreme Court
Publish Date: 2026-05-05 18:09:00
Source Domain: www.courthousenews.com
SALEM, Ore. (CN) — The question of whether or not social media giant Meta will have to turn over internal user messages in an Oregon homicide case came before the state’s highest court on Tuesday, as attorneys sparred over privacy regulations.
“Our courts do not let trials happen in violation of fundamental constitutional rights,” said Rian Peck, defense attorney with Visible Law.
Prosecutors say David Ayon-Urbano fatally shot Hector de Jesus Gonzalez Mendoza on a June night in 2024 on the outskirts of Salem. Both were teenagers at the time of the shooting, and two teenage girls witnessed the shooting.
Ayon-Urbano is seeking geolocation data, messages and call information from Meta that relate to the social media accounts of Gonzalez Mendoza and one of the teenage girl witnesses — records he argues are crucial to his defense. Should he be convicted of second-degree murder, Ayon-Urbano faces a potential life sentence.
Ayon-Urbano and Gonzalez Mendoza were members of rival gangs and Ayon-Urbano was reportedly mourning the loss of a friend killed by the rival gang. According to the defense theory, Gonzalez Mendoza colluded with one of the teenage girls to arrange a surprise encounter with Ayon-Urbano, resulting in Gonzalez Mendoza’s death. Messages from the teenage girl and Gonzalez Mendoza’s Instagram accounts could support this theory, Peck argues.
The trial court quashed the subpoena, prompting Ayon-Urbano to appeal to the state’s highest court. Before the Oregon Supreme Court on Tuesday, his defense attorney argued the problem could be easily resolved.
“There’s no meaningful dispute that Meta has Instagram messages and records that go to the heart of relator’s theory of self-defense,” Peck said. “If the state wanted to, it could get those records from Meta with relative ease.”
The trial court concluded the Stored Communications Act barred Ayon-Urbano from accessing electronic communications from Meta, but not if the state had requested the…
