Alphabet will delete location data showing when users visit an abortion clinic, the online search company said Friday, after concerns that a digital trail could tip off law enforcement if a person illegally terminates a pregnancy.
As state laws restricting abortion were introduced after the US Supreme Court ruled last month that they were no longer constitutionally guaranteed, the tech industry worried that police could obtain warrants for customers’ search history, geolocation and other information disclosing pregnancy plans.
On Friday, Google said it would continue to fend off illegal or overly broad data requests from the government, without reference to abortion.
The company said that a Google Account’s location history is turned off by default.
Effective in the coming weeks, for those using location history, records showing sensitive locations, including fertility centers, abortion clinics, and addiction treatment facilities, will be deleted soon after a visit.
A Google spokesman did not immediately say how the company would identify such visits or whether any associated data would be deleted from its servers.
Google is the first tech company to publicly say how it will handle user data in response to concerns about the ruling and how it could be weaponized and enforced by law enforcement.
Separately on Friday, the company updated its policy to designate US advertisers as abortion providers, even if they dispense pills by mail after a virtual consultation but don’t have their own facilities.
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