Facebook doesn't have to "pursue" criminal charges, however. It's the Government that brings criminal charges. In this case, Alex would just be a witness (willi

Facebook doesn't have to "pursue" criminal charges, however. It's the Government that brings criminal charges. In this case, Alex would just be a witness (willing or otherwise) the Government used to produce evidence of the researcher's crime. There is a mistaken understanding that if the "victim" of a crime doesn't "press charges", then there is no criminal liability. However, the "victim" is really only a witness to the actual crime in the eyes of the law. Here, the researcher has arguably confessed to a number of computer crimes, and if a DA/USAO or the DOJ were interested in making a statement, they might have enough evidence to indict the researcher on the strength of this post alone. Facebook, while perhaps not interested in "pressing charges", would have to comply with a criminal investigation here.