Chances of me freelancing?

Question

I'm almost done with my CS degree and I want to land a job as a software dev, but here is the issue. A few years ago I got arrested for a misdemeanor and although i wasn't convicted and the arrest was expunged I'm concerned that I won't be able to land a job anywhere no matter if it's a FAANG or just a mom or pop company. I was thinking about doing freelancing as an alternative and I wanted to ask am I screwed when it comes to doing freelancing also?  do background checks still occur