Google wary of sharing location data amid pandemic
CALIFORNIA: Google is limiting how its trove of location data is used in the fight against the novel coronavirus as the company balances government demands with user privacy concerns.
The largest US internet company has been talking with other tech companies and governments about how to respond to the pandemic. Google has detailed information on the movement of billions of people who use its digital maps and Android devices, and this has been identified as a useful asset.
In a statement on Tuesday,
Google said it has not shared any “aggregate anonymised location data for this purpose as is still assessing the best way to help.” The company also stressed that it has no plans to share or combine data with the industry.
The company didn’t completely rule out tapping this information in limited ways in the future.
“We’re exploring ways that aggregated anonymised location information could help in the fight against COVID-19,” a Google spokesperson wrote in an email. “One example could be helping health authorities determine the impact of social distancing, similar to the way we show popular restaurant times and traffic patterns in Google Maps.”
Civil liberties and privacy groups have criticised Google for broad data-collection activities and its practice of handing over information in response to law enforcement warrants. The company keeps a record of where many people go through its Location History feature.