The tech giant, Google, made an announcement on Friday that it will delete the location history of users when they visit abortion clinics, domestic violence shelters and other places in the United States.
Google senior vice president Jane Fitzpatrick wrote in a weblog post, “If our structures become aware of that any one has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit,” as mentioned via AFP.
“This trade will take effect in the coming weeks,” he added. Fitzpatrick tried to reassure customers that the company takes data privacy seriously.
This step will be taken for positions where confidentiality is sought. Other places include fertility centers, addiction treatment facilities, and weight loss clinics.
The announcement comes a week after the US Supreme Court made the tectonic choice to strip American women of their constitutional right to abortion, prompting a dozen states to ban or strictly prevent the procedure and prompting widespread protests across the country.
Activists and politicians have asked the tech giants to limit the amount of data they collect to keep it from being used to help enforce regulations for abortion investigations and prosecutions.
