In the US, the Electronic Frontier advocacy group and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in which they demand that Google be prohibited from providing confidential information to facilitate the search for criminals, called a “keyword warrant.” writes Bloomberg agency.
“A keyword warrant is a digital search that allows authorities to rummage through our sometimes very personal information, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court should rule the practice unconstitutional.“NACDL Fourth Amendment Center Litigation Director Michael Price wrote in the appeal.
It is noted that the police have been cooperating with Google since 2016. The first precedent was an investigation into a rape in Pennsylvania – law enforcement officers requested information about who, shortly before the crime, was looking for information about the name and address of the victim. Information was provided, thanks to which the rapist was detained and punished.
In 2022, after the US authorities discussed a law banning abortion, human rights defenders and activists for the first time demanded that Google be prohibited from disclosing such information, because, in their opinion, it would allow tracking down women who decided to illegally terminate their pregnancies. However, then the Colorado court did not prohibit the company from transmitting information to the police.
However, in December 2023, Google stopped providing police with user location information because it was discovered that law enforcement officers were misusing this information.
In November 2023, the American corporation Apple called Google’s Android system a mass surveillance tool.
