U.S. lawmakers urge Google to fix abortion searches that steer women to ‘fake clinics’
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers urged Alphabet Inc’s main Google search engine to provide correct outcomes to folks in search of abortions moderately than generally sending them to “disaster being pregnant facilities,” which steer lady away from the procedures.
The request got here in a letter, whose high signatories have been Senator Mark Warner and Consultant Elissa Slotkin, despatched to Google on Friday and first reported by Reuters.
The letter was prompted by a research launched final week by the nonprofit Heart for Countering Digital Hate. The research discovered that 11% of the outcomes for a seek for an “abortion clinic close to me” or “abortion tablet” in some states have been for facilities that oppose abortion.
The analysis was carried out within the 13 states with legal guidelines that may ban abortion if, as anticipated, the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized it nationwide as quickly as this month.
Google declined to touch upon the letter to Alphabet chief govt Sundar Pichai, however mentioned of the report: “We’re at all times taking a look at methods to enhance our outcomes to assist folks discover what they’re in search of, or perceive if what they’re in search of is probably not accessible.”
The letter was signed by 14 senators and 7 members of the U.S. Home of Representatives. All are Democrats.
Disaster being pregnant facilities, which have been round in a single type or one other for years, mirror disagreements in the US over the suitable to terminate a being pregnant. Among the facilities have been accused of giving ladies inaccurate details about their being pregnant, which may jeopardize their entry to abortion.
“Google shouldn’t be displaying anti-abortion pretend clinics or disaster being pregnant facilities,” the lawmakers wrote. “If Google should proceed exhibiting these deceptive outcomes…the outcomes ought to, on the very least, be appropriately labeled,” they wrote.
Google has handled different well being issues otherwise. Searches relating to suicide or sexual assault are topped by a curated listing of assets and trusted sources.
The analysis group additionally discovered that within the states that it studied that 28% of Google Advertisements have been for the anti-abortion facilities, as have been 37% of the outcomes on Google Maps. The letter mentioned that a few of the facilities had disclaimers however not all.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Modifying by Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis)
