By: Annabelle Lu

Last Friday, Democratic lawmakers addressed Google in a letter that urged the company to amend abortion searches resulting in “fake clinic” results across the web. Their dissent arises from the dangers that deceptive results pose to women seeking abortions and the trustworthiness of Google.

In a letter sent to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, Democratic lawmakers wrote, “Directing women toward fake clinics that traffic in misinformation and don’t provide comprehensive health services is dangerous to women’s health and undermines the integrity of Google’s search results.”

The letter, spearheaded by Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), cited a report produced by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). In states with “trigger laws” aimed to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, 11 percent of Google searches and 37 percent of Google Maps results for abortion services led users to anti-abortion facilities, according to the report.

By posing as medical facilities through offerings of pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, or testing for sexually-transmitted infections, fake clinics deceive women seeking abortion care. They often portray themselves as “crisis pregnancy centers” or “pregnancy resource centers,” but instead of offering abortions, they provide patients with pregnancy tests and anti-abortion propaganda. While these clinics are legal, they threaten abortion access with misleading information.

The CCDH report also found that sites for the “crisis pregnancy centers” were found to be making false claims, such that abortions can cause infertility or trigger suicidal impulses.

Although the workings of the Google search engine algorithm remains a secret, the company has revealed that there are “hundreds of factors” that help produce relevant, high quality search results. However, according to Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the search algorithm can be manipulated easily by groups that create interlinking networks of pages.

In an article published in The Washington Post, journalist Kim Bellware wrote, “Google is far and away the most popular search engine, with more than 90 percent of the global market share, according to the German consumer data analysis company, Statista.” Due to its enormous global impact, it will be imperative for Google to act responsibly.

Link to article: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655667897911x455898890068321600/Google%20results%20for%20abortion%20clinics%20are%20suggesting%20%27fake%20clinics%27%20before%20SCOTUS%20ruling%2C%20lawmakers%20say%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf