Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., announced on Friday that it will remove location information that shows when users visit abortion clinics. This decision was made in response to worries that a digital trail may help law authorities identify someone who has unlawfully terminated a pregnancy.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that abortions are no longer protected by the constitution, states have been forced to enact laws restricting abortions. The technology sector has been concerned that warrants could be obtained by the police for customer search history, geolocation data, and other information that might reveal pregnancy plans.
Without mentioning abortion, Google stated on Friday that it will keep fighting back against inappropriate or excessively broad requests for data by the government.
According to the business, a Google account’s location history is disabled by default.
For individuals that utilize location history, sensitive locations including fertility clinics, abortion clinics, and addiction treatment centers will have their information quickly removed starting in the upcoming weeks.
Google did not immediately respond to questions about how the business would recognize such visits or if all associated data would be deleted from its systems.
Separately, the business revised its policy on Friday to categorize US advertising as offering abortions even if they send out drugs by mail following a virtual consultation but lack physical facilities.
