Google will automatically purge information about users visiting abortion clinics or other places, which could trigger legal problems now, as the US Supreme Court opens the door for states to ban termination of pregnancies Have given.
The company behind Android software, the Internet’s leading search engine and powering most of the world’s smartphones, outlined new privacy protections in a Friday blog post.
In addition to automatically removing visits to abortion clinics, Google also cited counseling centers, fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics and cosmetic surgery clinics as other destinations that were erased from users’ location history. Will go Users always have the option to edit their location history themselves, but Google will proactively do it for them as an added level of security.
Google Senior Vice President Jane Fitzpatrick wrote in a blog post, “We are committed to providing strong privacy protections for the people who use our products, and we will continue to explore new ways to strengthen and improve these protections.” “
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about how the company would identify such trips or whether all related data would be wiped from its servers.
Renee Chellian is an American abortion provider and the founder of Northland Family Planning Centers.
The company’s pledge comes amid pressure on Google and other big tech companies to do more to shield the store of sensitive personal information through their digital services and products from government officials and other outsiders.
The demand for more stringent privacy controls was triggered by the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the recent 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had secured constitutional protections for abortion. This reversal could make abortion illegal in more than a dozen states, allowing spectators to record people’s locations, texts, searches, and emails to be prosecuted for abortion procedures or even used for medical care sought in abortion. can be done.
Like other technology companies, Google receives thousands of government demands for users’ digital records each year as part of its investigations into misconduct. Google says it backs down against search warrants and other demands that are overly broad or appear to be unfounded.
