Google Tackles Data Privacy, Plans to Delete Location History at Abortion Clinics

July 05, 2022 - Google announced plans to heighten its data privacy practices and said it would delete location history when users visit abortion clinics, domestic violence shelters, fertility centers, weight loss clinics, addiction treatment centers, and other facilities, Google senior vice president Jen Fitzpatrick explained in a Google blog post.

Location history is a Google setting that is off by default, and users can manually or auto-delete location data at any time. Rather than leaving this responsibility in the hands of individual users, Google said it would start automatically deleting select location data when its systems identify that a user visited one of the aforementioned places. The blog post said that the change would take effect “in the coming weeks.”

Fitzpatrick outlined plans to continue promoting transparency and user control. Google recently introduced a new data safety section on Google Play, which sheds light on how apps collect, transmit, and secure user data.  

“For Google Fit and Fitbit, we give users settings and tools to easily access and control their personal data, including the option to change and delete personal information, at any time,” the post continued.

“For example, Fitbit users who have chosen to track their menstrual cycles in the app can currently delete menstruation logs one at a time, and we will be rolling out updates that let users delete multiple logs at once.”

Fitzpatrick also emphasized Google’s commitment to pushing back on questionable government demands for data.

“We take into account the privacy and security expectations of people using our products, and we notify people when we comply with government demands, unless we’re prohibited from doing so or lives are at stake — such as in an emergency situation,” Google stated.

“In fact, we were the first major company to regularly share the number and types of government demands we receive in a Transparency Report. We remain committed to protecting our users against improper government demands for data, and we will continue to oppose demands that are overly broad or otherwise legally objectionable.”

The post came a month after a group of 40 Congressional Democrats sent a letter to Google asking it to stop collecting and retaining location information, which they said could be used by prosecutors to identify people obtaining abortions.  

“No law requires Google to collect and keep records of its customers’ every movement. Apple has shown that it is not necessary for smartphone companies to retain invasive tracking databases of their customers' locations,” the letter stated.

“Google's intentional choice to do so is creating a new digital divide, in which privacy and security are made a luxury. Americans who can afford an iPhone have greater privacy from government surveillance of their movements than the tens of millions Americans using Android devices.”

In late June, a group of US Senators also sent a letter asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking it to launch an investigation into Apple and Google’s data privacy practices. The letter alleged that the tech giants knowingly facilitated the collection and sale of personal data by using advertising-specific tracking IDs in their mobile operating systems.

Fitzpatrick expressed Google’s support of Congressional efforts to enact nationwide privacy protections that “move the burden of privacy off individuals and establish good data practices across the board.”

“In the meantime, we will continue our focus on securing our products and protecting the privacy of our users around the world.”