42 Democratic lawmakers wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to urge Google to stop collecting and withholding user location data unnecessarily. They are concerned that “far-right extremists” may use the data to prosecute those who have aborted. REUTERS / Yves Herman / Photo File
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42 Democratic lawmakers urged Google to stop collecting user location data unnecessarily.
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They said “far-right extremists” could use the data to prosecute those who have aborted.
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Google said it received 11,554 requests in 2020 to share geographic data with law enforcement.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are calling for Google to stop unnecessarily collecting and withholding user location data to worry that “far-right extremists” may use the data to prosecute those who have aborted.
“Google’s current practice of collecting and retaining extensive cell phone location data records will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists seeking to repress people seeking reproductive health care,” they said. lawmakers in a letter to Google CEO Sundar. Pichai.
The letter, dated May 24, was signed by 42 Democratic members of the House and Senate. They were led by Senator Ron Wyden and included legislators such as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren.
“We request that you promptly reformat your data collection and retention practices so that Google no longer collects unnecessary customer location data or retains unaggregated location data on individual customers, either identifiable or anonymously.” , they added.
A draft Supreme Court opinion leaked earlier this month suggests that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision to guarantee federal rights to abortion, could be overturned in the coming weeks. If that happens, abortion could be illegal in 23 states.
The news raised concerns about how location data could be used to locate people who have visited abortion clinics. Last week, 16 Democratic senators urged the Federal Trade Commission to ensure data privacy for those seeking abortions in states where the procedure could become illegal.
In a letter to Pichai on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers said Google collects more detailed information through its Android smartphones. They said the collection occurs “regardless of whether the phone is being used or which app a user has open.”
The story goes on
Lawmakers used Apple as an example to show that smartphone companies should not retain users’ location data. “Americans who can afford an iPhone have more privacy in government surveillance of their movements than the tens of millions of Americans who use Android devices,” they wrote.
Google said it received 11,554 geofence applications in 2020
Lawmakers said law enforcement officers often force Google to provide data through geofence orders or require Google to release data about each user who was near a specific location at a particular time.
Your request is in addition to long-standing concerns about Google’s response to geofence requests from law enforcement officials. In 2020, civil rights groups also urged Pichai to reject these requests.
Google said it received 11,554 such applications from the United States in 2020, according to data released by Google last year. This is an increase of 37.6% over the number of applications in 2019, according to the data. Google did not indicate in the statement how many requests it complied with.
In March, a federal district judge ruled that Virginia police, in handing Google a geofence order for location data, violated the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches. Police had asked Google for help figuring out which users were near the scene of a robbery in 2019, NBC reported.
Google did not immediately respond to Insider’s feedback request.
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