More than 40 Democratic members of Congress called on Google to stop collecting and retaining customer location data that could be used to identify women who obtain abortions.
In a world where abortion could be made illegal, we are concerned that the current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists. The Democrats wrote a letter on May 24 saying that it was because of the location information that was shared with government agencies. The letter was sent to the CEO.
There should be no unnecessary customer location data or any non-aggregate location data about individual customers. Lawmakers wrote that the online advertising-focused digital infrastructure cannot be weaponized against women. They said that people who use the Apple device have more privacy than the millions of Americans who use the device.
Democrats wrote that Republicans in Congress are already discussing passing a law criminalizing abortion in all 50 states, if the Supreme Court overturns Wade.
There is location data from phones.
Democrats told Pichai in their letter.
One of the first companies in America to insist on a warrant before releasing location data to law enforcement is deserving of credit, but it's not enough. If abortion is made illegal by the Supreme Court and Republican lawmakers, right-wing prosecutors will use legal warrants to prosecute and jail women for obtaining reproductive health care. If you want to protect your customers from government snooping, you need to not keep location data in the first place.
They wrote that the location information from the phone is transmitted to the search engine regardless of whether the phone is being used or not. Consumers can only allow third party apps to access location data if they also allow for location data to be received by Google. The lawmakers wrote that the location data from users of the Apple device is only collected by the company.
If we get a response to the letter, we will update this article.
Exactly how the location privacy settings work has been a matter of confusion for some people. In August 2020, we wrote about the documents from the consumer fraud suit the state of Arizona filed against the company, which showed that company employees knew and discussed among themselves that the company's location privacy settings were confusing and potentially misleading.
Democrats think that users of the iPhone have more privacy.
The privacy of people with low incomes is at risk because of the digital divide.
There is no law that requires Google to keep records of its customers. Apple has shown that it's not necessary for companies to keep their customers' locations. A new digital divide is being created by the intentional choice of the company to do so. Americans who can afford an Apple device have more privacy than the millions of Americans who use a mobile device.
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