US lawmakers urge Google to limit location tracking to protect women seeking abortion
It comes ahead of the expected overturning of the 1973 decision by the US Supreme Court that safeguards a woman's right to have an abortion
A group of 42 Democratic members of Congress have urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai to cease collecting and storing unnecessary or non-aggregated location data that might be used by "far-right extremists" and prosecutors to identify and target people who've had abortions.
The group, which is led by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), published a letter [pdf] on Tuesday in which it demanded that Google reconsider its location data collecting practices so that device data is only collected in aggregate rather than individually, and that the firm does not keep it longer than necessary.
Elizabeth Warren, Ayanna Pressley, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are among the legislators who have signed the letter.
The letter comes ahead of the expected overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision by the US Supreme Court that safeguarded a woman's right to have an abortion.
Earlier this month, Politico published a draft opinion, suggesting that the previous ruling could be reversed in the coming weeks. If that happens, abortion might become illegal in 23 states.
Although the court has not yet handed down its final decision, the Chief Justice has acknowledged that the draft was authentic.
Democrats have slammed the Supreme Court's reported decision to strike down the constitutional right to safe, legal abortions.
The possibility of the earlier judgement being reversed has sparked concerns that location data or search history may be used against those seeking abortions or those who provide them in areas where abortion is outlawed.
"If abortion is made illegal by the far-right Supreme Court and Republican lawmakers, it is inevitable that right-wing prosecutors will obtain legal warrants to hunt down, prosecute and jail women for obtaining critical reproductive health care," the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
"The only way to protect your customers' location data from such outrageous government surveillance is to not keep it in the first place."
The letter mentions an uptick in geofence warrant requests to Google, which require the company to hand over data on anyone who was in a certain location at a specific time.
In 2020, Google obtained 11,554 geofence warrants, up from 982 in 2018.
Experts have previously criticised the use of geofence warrants in the investigation of demonstrators during Black Lives Matter protests.
Currently, geofence data is only accessible with a court-issued warrant, but with over 20 states preparing to criminalise abortion if Roe v. Wade is reversed, lawmakers fear such a warrant could be used to target anybody visiting an abortion provider.
The letter also compares and contrasts Apple's choice to reduce location data retention with Google's policy.
"Apple has shown that it is not necessary for smartphone companies to retain invasive tracking databases of their customers' locations. Google's intentional choice to do so is creating a new digital divide, in which privacy and security are made a luxury," the lawmakers said.
"Americans who can afford an iPhone have greater privacy from government surveillance of their movements than the tens of millions Americans using Android devices."
Last week, 16 Democrats signed a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, urging the agency to safeguard the data privacy of women seeking reproductive healthcare.
On Tuesday, the privacy rights organisation Fight for the Future also sent Google an open letter with identical requests.