Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade will have massive ramifications for women around the country. With abortions to soon become either illegal or more difficult to perform in multiple states, many will need to travel across state lines to seek the care they need. As a company that tracks a plethora of user data, including geographical location, Google has announced that it will delete location history for users that travel to get an abortion.
Google’s senior VP of core systems and experiences Jen Fitzpatrick announced the company’s new initiative last Friday, days after the Supreme Court ruled to strike down Roe v. Wade, which previously protected abortions as a constitutional right.
“Today, we’re announcing that if our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit,” she said in the announcement. With the understanding that people will now have to travel to visit abortion clinics, there are already concerns about potential legal repercussions for doing so.
There are also significant concerns surrounding privacy following the Supreme Court ruling. The decision to get an abortion can be incredibly personal, and Google’s system automatically removing those visits from location history will help users to protect their privacy. Google also spoke about the Fitbit, which can be used to track menstrual cycles in its users. “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.”
Multiple tech companies have announced their efforts to help employees and users in the face of the Roe v Wade strikedown. Disney, Netflix, and Paramount were among several companies that confirmed they would cover travel costs for workers that need to go out of state for the health care they need.