It is reported that a group of US lawmakers has signed a letter to Google. The letter urges the tech company to reevaluate its handling of search results that direct users to anti-abortion crisis centers rather than legal clinics. Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Elissa Slotkin are leading the initiative, while several other Democratic lawmakers have signed on to the letter.
The letter cites research published by the Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH), which focuses on Google search results that “trigger the state” — or, if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortion would be in 13 states becomes illegal.
In triggering states, 11 percent of Google searches for “abortion clinics near me” and “abortion pills” take users to “fake” clinics to try to dissuade women from having abortions, research shows. The problem was even more pronounced on Google Maps, as CCDH found that 37 percent of abortion-related map searches were for fake clinics.
In a letter to Google, lawmakers asked whether the search giant would limit or label such results. “Directing women to fake clinics that sell misinformation and don’t provide comprehensive health services is dangerous for women’s health and undermines the integrity of Google’s search results,” the letter reads. Results and Google Maps show these misleading results, then at least those results should be properly labelled.”
Ads on Google also appear to be affected by the problem — almost 28 percent of ads for abortion-related queries that appear at the top of search results pages are related to anti-choice clinics, according to CCDH. In 2019, Google started requiring companies that advertise abortions to prove whether they offer abortions. For companies that don’t actually implement the procedure, Google has placed a “doesn’t offer abortion” disclaimer below the ad, but CCDH noted that some users might not always notice it.
NEW: @RepSlotkin and I are leading a group of lawmakers to push on the Google CEO to crack down on manipulative search results that lead to scammy “crisis pregnancy centers.”
It’s time for them to limit or label results and ads that lead to fake abortion clinics. pic.twitter.com/LlkTueI2QP
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) June 17, 2022
In an emailed statement to The Verge, Google spokesperson Nicolas Lopez said: “Any organization that wants to advertise on Google to people seeking information about abortion services must be certified and clearly state in the ad whether they offer abortion. Find ways to improve our results to help people find what they’re looking for or see if what they’re looking for might not exist.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision on Roe v. Wade in the coming days, but a leaked draft decision obtained by Politico could mean the court plans to overturn the landmark ruling. In preparation for the upcoming ruling, another group of Democratic lawmakers is also urging Google to stop collecting Android users’ location data, which could potentially be used to prosecute those who have abortions in anti-abortion states.
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