Why legal process could take months

AS a US-based company, Facebook has no legal requirement to provide British police forces with access to private accounts.

In general, the firm says it only provides officers with swift access in cases ‘involving imminent harm to a child, or risk of death or serious physical injury to any person’.

For most other requests – even those relating to terrorism, murder and rape – detectives must go through the US legal system, which can take months.

British police must send a formal written request for help, which Facebook calls a ‘mutual legal assistance treaty request’. They must also apply to the US Justice Department, which places the request in a queue before any court order is granted compelling Facebook to disclose a user’s personal information – including their password. Facebook, which also owns the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp, was condemned last year for refusing to give MI5 access to text messages after a string of deadly terror attacks in Britain.

It is not the only tech company to face such criticism. Apple was slammed for refusing to help the FBI access data on the phone of a terrorist who shot 14 dead in San Bernardino, California, in 2015.