Will US Tech Industry be Forced to Hand Over Data for Prosecuting Abortions? Activists Express Fears

Calls for tech companies to take a stance against the use of online data to accuse people seeking or providing abortion services increased after the US Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade judgment last week, declaring that nearly a half-century-old constitutional right to abortion no longer exists. Senator Elizabeth Warren said: “We have got to shut down this notion of tracking women’s health histories, tracking women’s locational data, so that extremist states can track these women and prosecute them for making their own medical decision.” However, as of now, no big digital companies have publicly stated how they will handle such data and address future law enforcement requests, despite the mounting calls for this to happen. We remain committed to protecting your reproductive health data.” Last month, a group of Democrats led by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and California Representative Anna Eshoo wrote to Google, expressing concern that its current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data would allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care. In a statement, the Democratic senator said: “Data brokers profit from the location data of millions of people, posing serious risks to Americans everywhere by selling their most private information.” “With this extremist supreme court poised to overturn Roe v Wade and states seeking to criminalize essential healthcare, it is more crucial than ever for Congress to protect consumers’ sensitive data,” she added.