In the future, Google wants to remove the location data of users who have visited abortion clinics, women’s shelters and other intimate places in the US. “If our systems determine that someone has visited one of these locations, we will delete those entries from Location History shortly after the visit,” Google CEO Jen Fitzpatrick announced Friday. The change will take effect in the coming weeks.
Other places where Google no longer wants to store location data from smartphones in the future are fertility clinics, addiction clinics and weight loss clinics. With the announcement, the technology group is responding to the abortion ruling of the US Supreme Court.
Court overturned abortion law
Just over a week ago, the Supreme Court issued the landmark 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision establishing a national right to abortion. This means that US states can now largely or even completely ban abortions. Some conservatively governed states have already done that.
Following the ruling, activists and politicians called on Google and other tech companies to stop storing location history and other sensitive user data so authorities couldn’t use it to investigate abortions.
“We consider privacy and security expectations
Fitzpatrick explained in a blog post that Google has long rejected “too broad claims from law enforcement.” “We consider the privacy and security expectations of the people who use our products, and we notify people when we meet legal requirements,” she wrote.
Even before the Supreme Court ruling, there were fears in the United States that authorities could use location data from smartphones in abortion investigations. Several US states have passed legislation in recent months encouraging individuals to sue doctors and others who have helped women get abortions.
Democrat MPs wrote a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai in May, asking him to stop collecting location data so that the data would not be used as a “tool by right-wing extremists.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
