Nuked A group of us lawmakers have signed off on a letter to Google that urges the company to reevaluate its treatment of search results. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Elissa slotkin (D-MI) are leading the initiative.
The center for countering digital hate (ccdh) focuses on Google search results in 13 states where abortion will become illegal if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. 11 percent of Google searches in trigger law states bring users to’fake’ clinics that try to dissuade women from having an abortion. The problem is even more pronounced on Google Maps, as the ccdh found that 37 percent of abortion-related map searches led to fake clinics.
Lawmakers are leading a group of lawmakers to push on the Google CEO to crack down on search results.’it’s time for them to limit or label results and ads that lead to fake abortion clinics,’ says repslotkin.
Lawmakers ask the search giant if it will limit or label these kinds of results going forward.’directed women towards fake clinics that traffic in misinformation and do n’t provide comprehensive health services is dangerous to women’s health and undermines the integrity of Google’s search results,’ they say.
In 2019, Google started requiring companies running abortion ads to certify whether or not they provide abortions. For companies that do n’t actually perform the procedure, Google places a’disclaimer’ beneath the ad.
Google spokesperson Nicolas Lopez said in-ad disclosures clearly state whether they do or do not offer abortions.’we’re always looking at ways to improve our results to help people find what they’re looking for,’ he said.
