Facebook & Instagram Investigation | Data request from Facebook for Police and Government

1. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/records/login/
2. Checkbox on "I am an authorized law enforcement agent or government employee investigating an emergency, and this is an official request" and click Submit.
3. Enter your "Government Email ID". Facebook will not accept private email accounts like Gmail and Outlook. It has to be a Government / Official Email ID.
4. An email from records@records.facebook.com will be received to your mailbox. Many a times mail may go in Spam folder, so check all folders. Facebook will send a unique link which has a limited duration of 1 hour. So ensure you click it in one hour.
5. Going forward, you need to address all legal notices to "Meta Platforms, Inc." - which is the actual custodian of data.
6. Next step is to go to Make a Preservation Request. Write the case number and select Facebook product and date for which you need to preserve the data. LERS portal presently allows data from following products:
   • Facebook
   • Facebook Ads
   • Instagram
   • Oculus
   • Meta AI
   • Threads
   No formal signed or stamped notice is required to initiate a preservation request.
7. Next step is to request for metadata related to any particular profile or account. Click on make a record request tab.
8. After selecting appropriate sections, select what is the crime linked to profiles. Meta gives following options:

   Bullying/Harassment, Child Safety (No Immediate Threat Identified), Child Safety (Potential Harm), Criminal Defamation, Drugs/Narcotics, Fake/Impersonation Account, Financial Fraud/Scam, Firearms/Weapons, Fugitive, Gang Activity, Hacked Account, Hate Speech, Homicide/Murder, Human Smuggling, Human Trafficking, Missing/Kidnapped Person, Missing/Kidnapped/Runaway Minor, Physical Assault, Possibly Counterfeiting, Robbery/Theft, Sex Crime/Sexual Assault, Sexual Extortion, Suicide, Terrorist Activity, Threats of Violence, Preservation, Other

9. Last important step is a "Signed and Stamped" copy which needs to be addressed to "Meta Platforms, Inc.". Letter should clearly mention offence related information, legal section and identifier (Ex. Facebook profile link) in the notice. Any lapse in the mention can get notice rejected. If you are in India, do mention IT Rules (3)(1)(j) and 72 hours of timeline to ensure time bound data reply is received. Timeline of records is important. Select date where the offence took place for accurate information.
10. In the end, tick on the Checkbox which states the below message and click submit.

    I attest that I am a law enforcement agent or government employee authorized to request account records and all the information I have provided is accurate.

A confirmation mail will be sent to registered mail id.