Dozens of democratic lawmakers urged google on tuesday to restrict the amount of location facts it collects and continues on its users amid fears the facts could be used in opposition to abortion seekers. In a letter to google ceo sundar pichai led by way of oregon democratic sen. Ron wyden, greater than 40 us senators and participants of congress said google (goog) dangers permitting “proper-wing prosecutors to become aware of human beings who have acquired abortions” because of its exercise of collecting place records from humans the usage of its services and products.
We are worried that, in a international in which abortion could be made unlawful, google’s current exercise of gathering and retaining giant records of cell telephone location statistics will allow it to end up a device for a long way-proper extremists trying to crack down on people searching for reproductive health care,” the lawmakers wrote.
Google did not right now reply to a request for remark. Tuesday’s letter follows the leaking of a draft superb court opinion that would overturn roe v. Wade and verify nation lawmakers’ ability to skip legal guidelines criminalizing abortion. Civil liberties and reproductive rights advocates have warned that statistics requests by law enforcement, submitted to tech structures, could facilitate a crackdown on abortion-seekers and probably folks that useful resource them.
On tuesday, the lawmakers referred to as for google to reduce its practices so that it “not collects unnecessary purchaser vicinity records nor retains any non-combination area statistics about person customers.””no law requires google to gather and maintain records of its customers’ every motion,” the letter endured. “apple has proven that it isn’t essential for telephone companies to keep invasive tracking databases of their clients’ places. Google’s intentional desire to achieve this is creating a new digital divide, wherein privacy and protection are made a luxury.”
