Google has announced that it will delete the history of visits to abortion clinics in the United States to protect the identities of those who have been there. The company’s decision comes shortly after the US Supreme Court suspended a ruling based on Roe v Wade, which guaranteed the right to abortion for women in the country.
In an announcement Friday, Google also said it would delete the location history of people who have visited counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, fertility centers, drug rehabilitation centers, weight loss centers, plastic surgery clinics and much more. Type of medical establishment.
Google said it will delete location histories that contain visits to places in the US that offer healthcare, such as abortion clinics.
According to Fitzpatrick, the decision was made to protect the privacy of users and prevent personal information from being used against those who opt for abortion. In this case, Google is under pressure from the public to clarify the company’s views on the matter.
Exclude clinical history
Until then, the company offered the option to manually delete location information, and now it automatically deletes history when a user visits one of the aforementioned clinics. The feature will be updated to Android devices in the coming weeks.
On Fitbit, for example, you can now delete one record at a time, but the company will update the device’s systems to include the ability to delete multiple records at once.
So far, Google is reviewing requests for data from abortionists in states that ban abortion.
