Topline
In a letter sent Friday, 21 Democratic legislators urge Alphabet, the parent company of Google, to fix what it calls “misleading” search results on abortion, following a study released earlier this week that found some Google searches for abortion information in states with so-called trigger laws direct people to crisis pregnancy centers that counsel against abortion.
Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
Key Facts
The letter urges Alphabet to address the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s findings that in the 13 states set to outlaw abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, searches for “abortion clinic near me” and “abortion pill” directed people to clinics run by anti-abortion groups 37% of the time on Google Maps and 11% of the time on Google searches.
The letter, written by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), asks Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to submit a plan to limit the number of search results that lead people to “anti-abortion clinics,” add disclaimers when those clinics appear in search results, and provide information on Google’s attempts to provide “accurate search results” on health care.
The lawmakers charged that a “misleading” result “undermines the integrity of Google’s search results” and can be “dangerous to women’s health.”
In a statement to Forbes, Google said any organization that advertises on its site to people seeking information on abortions must be certified through the company and show “in-ad disclosures” that “clearly state” whether they provide abortions.
Surprising Fact
The study also found that 28% of Google ads displayed at the top of the search results were for anti-abortion clinics.
Key Background
The letter comes one month after Politico published a draft decision from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down the two landmark Supreme Court decisions that provide federal protection for abortions: 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Alito wrote in his draft decision that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start” and “must be overruled.” Overturning Roe would leave the legality of abortion up to individual states, including the 13 that have trigger laws to ban the procedure if Roe is overturned: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. All but one of those bans – Wyoming’s – would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by prison time. Lawmakers in four more states – Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina – have proposed bans on abortions after six weeks, if Roe is overturned.
Tangent
Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, was reported on Wednesday to be collecting data from people who search for crisis pregnancy centers – quasi health clinics that advise women against abortions – and enabling those clinics to use Facebook data to target people online through promotions, violating its own policies.
Further Reading
Performing An Abortion Will Become A Felony In These States If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned (Forbes)
EXCLUSIVE-U.S. lawmakers urge Google to fix abortion searches that steer women to ‘fake clinics’ (Reuters)
Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients (Reveal)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/06/17/democratic-lawmakers-to-google-abortion-search-results-shouldnt-direct-women-to-fake-clinics/