As state laws restricting abortion were enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that they were no longer constitutionally guaranteed, the tech industry is concerned that police could obtain warrants for customers’ search history, geographic location and other information revealing pregnancy plans. Google announced Friday that it will continue to respond to inappropriate or overly broad requests for data from the government, without reference to abortion. The company said a Google Account’s location history is turned off by default. Effective in the coming weeks, for those using location history, listings showing sensitive places, including fertility centers, abortion clinics, and drug addiction treatment facilities, will be deleted immediately after the visit. A Google spokesman did not immediately say how the company would track such visits or whether all relevant data would be deleted from its servers. Google is the first tech company to say publicly how it will handle user data in response to concerns about the court ruling and how it might be weaponized and enforced by law enforcement. Separately, the company updated its policy on Friday to designate US advertisers as abortion providers even if they dispense pills by mail after a virtual consultation but don’t have their own facilities.
