EPIC, Coalition Urge Google to Cease Location Data Collection, Protect Reproductive Healthcare Privacy

June 2, 2022

EPIC and a coalition of over 70 organizations sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, calling on the company to end collection and retention of customers’ location data. The coalition’s letter reinforces a similar letter sent by over 40 members of Congress to Google last week. The coalition explained that “[i]f abortion is made illegal . . . it is inevitable that prosecutors will use legal means to hunt down, prosecute and jail people for obtaining critical reproductive health care.” Since “[l]aw enforcement officials routinely obtain court orders forcing Google to turn over its customers’ location information,” the coalition urged Google not to “allow its online advertising-focused digital infrastructure to be weaponized against people seeking abortions.”

Last month, EPIC issued a statement opposing the draft Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the erosion of the constitutional right to privacy.  EPIC has long advocated for health privacy, recently submitting comments to the Health and Human Services Department urging protection of patient data privacy. EPIC also recently supported a federal bill to ban surveillance advertising.  

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