'Google has a simple choice: delete the data or become complicit in criminalizing abortion.'
Crucially, geofence data is only available after a court-issued warrant — but with more than 20 states preparing to outlaw abortion as soon asis overturned, it’s increasingly plausible that such a warrant could be used to target anyone visiting an abortion provider.
To prevent this from happening, the signatories of the letter request that Google redesign its location data collection practices so that device data is only collected at an aggregate level, rather than on an individual basis, and is not retained by the company for longer than needed. The letter also contrasts Google’s location data policy with Apple’s decision to minimize location data retention, stating that “Americans who can afford an iPhone have greater privacy from government surveillance of their movements than the tens of millions Americans using Android devices.”on May 3rd suggesting that the Supreme Court intends to overturn. In particular, many have raised concerns that digital surveillance technology could be used to prosecute women who seek out abortions. On the same day that the Democratic letter was released, the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Projecton the many ways that people seeking abortions might be tracked, citing a number of existing cases where data from internet search history or credit card transactions has been used against people who have terminated pregnancies. In a statement, Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, welcomed the Congressional letter, saying that Google should delete its location data or be “complicit in criminalizing abortion.” “It’s not enough for tech firms to say they’re pro-choice, they have to stop collecting data that puts pregnant people at risk,” Cahn said. “There’s no way for Texas to station state police at every out-of-state abortion clinic, but with data from Google and other companies, they don’t need to. If tech giants don’t act soon, we’ll see pregnant people seeking abortion care out of state, only to come home to an arrest warrant.” So far, Google has not made any public response to the letter; the company did not immediately respond to questions sent by
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