Forty-two Democratic lawmakers have penned a letter to Google, urging the company to stop collecting and storing unnecessary data that could identify people seeking abortions, CNBC reported May 24.
The lawmakers took issue with Google's policy of storing disagregated location data which, in theory, could be handed over to law enforcmenet to identify those who go to get abortions in a post-Roe America. In 2020, Google received 11,554 geofence warrants asking the company to give over location data about a user at a certain time and place.
"We are concerned that, in a world in which abortion could be made illegal, Google’s current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care," read the letter.