S.T.O.P. Welcomes Google Location Privacy Update

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes Google Location Privacy Update (New York, NY 12/13/23) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, welcomes a forthcoming privacy update from Google whereby location history in Google Maps will only be saved on a user’s device. Google will also set location history to delete after 3 months by default and offer new auto-delete controls, allowing users to delete their activity related to specific places. The civil rights group called on other tech companies to make similar updates and on lawmakers to pass the Reverse Location and Reverse Keyword Search Prohibition Act in New York, which is supported by Google. The first-in-the-nation law that would ban police use of geofence warrants, court orders that allow police to force Google to identify every user in a specified area. SEE: Google - Updates to Location History and new controls coming soon to Maps https://blog.google/products/maps/updates-to-location-history-and-new-controls-coming-soon-to-maps/ TechCrunch - Google, Microsoft and Yahoo back New York ban on controversial search warrants https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/10/google-new-york-geofence-keyword-warrant/ “Google’s latest updates are a huge step in the fight against dystopian location tracking,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Legal Director David Siffert. “But we can’t stop there. All tech firms currently collecting location data must follow suit and stop facilitating geofence warrants. And if lawmakers in New York truly want to protect reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare seekers, they must ban police use of geofence warrants immediately.” SEE: Slate - The Police Surveillance Tool Too Dangerous to Ignore https://slate.com/technology/2023/06/geofence-keyword-warrant-police-surveillance-new-york-law.html Last year, S.T.O.P. welcomed a letter from 40 Democratic senators and representatives calling on Google to delete individualized location data that police can use to enforce abortion bans. The letter noted that if Google deleted individual location records, keeping only aggregate data, that the search giant would be unable to comply when served with geofence warrants to track abortion seekers. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes Congressional Call For Google To Delete Location Data https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/5/24/stop-welcomes-congressional-call-for-google-to-delete-location-data The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.