Advocates, as well as activists, have expressed their concerns against federal restrictions on the data that tech companies are allowed to derive and store. This, as a result, allowed law enforcement to access potentially incriminating information about a person’s whereabouts, internet searches as well as communication history. In a statement, 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.” 

The 24th June Verdict 

On 24.06.22, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion. The decision was highly condemned by President Joe Biden as it will drastically change the lives of millions of women in America and exacerbate growing tensions in a deeply polarized country.  

In a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, the court upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law which bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The vote was 5-4 to overturn Roe. Meanwhile, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts separately wrote, saying he would have upheld the Mississippi law without taking the additional step of erasing the Roe precedent altogether.  

Apprehensions over Obtaining Data 

With state laws limiting abortion kicking in after the ruling, several technology trade representatives informed media outlets how they apprehend the police will obtain warrants for customers’ search history, geolocation and other information indicating plans to terminate a pregnancy. Prosecutors could also access the same data via a subpoena.  

The concern shows how the data collection practices of companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc and Amazon.com Inc have the potential to incriminate abortion-seekers for state laws that many in Silicon Valley oppose. 

According to Cynthia Conti-Cook, a technology fellow at the Ford Foundation, “It is very likely that there’s going to be requests made to those tech companies for information related to search histories, to websites visited.” 

Are Tech Companies Leaking Sensitive Information? 

The major concern is such data, especially in states with stringent abortion restrictions, has reportedly been used to prosecute people for miscarriages and pregnancy terminations. For a long time, technology has gathered (and revealed) sensitive pregnancy-related information about consumers. In 2015, abortion opponents targeted ads saying ‘Pregnancy Help’ and ‘You Have Choices’ to individuals entering reproductive health clinics, using so-called geofencing technology to identify smartphones in the area. 

In a recent case, Mississippi prosecutors charged a mother with second-degree murder after her smartphone revealed her search for abortion drugs during her third trimester. Although suspects can unwittingly hand over their phones and volunteer information used to prosecute them, investigators may well turn to tech companies in the absence of leads or evidence.  

For example, in US v. Chatrie, police obtained a warrant for Google location data that led them to Okello Chatrie in an investigation of a 2019 bank robbery. Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said on Twitter, “The difference between now and the last time that abortion was illegal in the United States is that we live in an era of unprecedented digital surveillance.” 

Also Read:- With the new ‘Twitter Notes’ feature, users can write long-form content on the platform

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In the 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution “makes no reference to abortion” and that “no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.” Writing the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by the court’s other conservative justices, including Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, tossed out Roe as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 Supreme Court decision upholding abortion rights. 

Implications on the US Tech Companies 

While the decision will change the landscape of reproductive health in the US, the abortion policy, being limited to a handful of states, allows several other states to pass restrictions on abortion rights. This implies that people hailing from states where abortion is banned will have to travel to other states to get the required procedures done—making the already difficult situation further challenging.  

With that said, various tech giants located in the Republican-controlled states are coming out in solidarity and providing financial aid including other forms of assistance to their staff who wish to seek abortion care. This is how some major tech giants responded to the new ruling.   

5 Major Tech Companies and Their Responses to the Law 

1. Microsoft 

After being approached by TechCrunch, Microsoft said it will “do everything (it) can under the law” to support its employees and their dependents in accessing healthcare regardless of their location in the US. Prior to the decision, the company offered services like abortion and ‘gender-affirming’ care along with its health plans. The company tends to continue this as well as pay travel expense assistance for lawful medical services where access to healthcare is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region.  

2. eBay 

On the other hand, eBay said, effective June 8, 2022, it expanded benefits so employees and their beneficiaries can be reimbursed to travel in the US to receive access to abortion treatment if unavailable locally. The company further said that the process will be managed via its healthcare carriers to maintain confidentiality.  

3. Google 

Google said it will allow its employees to move to another state that doesn’t have abortion restriction laws, without really having to justify it. For employees who don’t wish to relocate, the company’s insurance would cover out-of-state medical procedures that aren’t available where the employee lives and works. 

4. Netflix 

During a conversation with CNN, a Netflix spokesperson said that the company is offering travel reimbursement coverage for US full-time employees as well as their dependents in need for travelling for healthcare treatments, which includes abortions and gender-affirming care.  

The company actually offers a lifetime allowance of $10,000 per employee or their dependents, per service.  

5. Meta 

Meta has announced that it is willing to offer travel expense reimbursement, ‘to the extent permitted by law’ for employees who wish to seek out-of-state healthcare and reproductive services. Meta’s spokesperson further stated, “We are in the process of assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved.” 

Anwesha Mishra

Anwesha has been a creative writer for a while. Currently, on her pursuit of tech writing, she is diving into the realms of technology to produce better content on the forever-changing world of technology. In her free time, you’ll find her humming tunes of her favourite shows or reading a book.

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