Google Will Stop Telling Law Enforcement Which Users Were Near a Crime::(Bloomberg) – Alphabet Inc.’s Google is changing its Maps tool so that the company no longer has access to users’ individual location histories, cutting off its ability to respond to law enforcement warrants that ask for data on everyone who was in the vicinity of a crime.Most Read from BloombergNetanyahu, Under Pressure Over Hostage Deaths, Vows to Press OnMike Johnson May Be the Next House Speaker to Lose His Job‘Underwater’ Car Loans Signal US Consumers Slammed by High RatesUS Navy Shoots Do
There’s zero benefit for Google to hand over this information, and potentially face a lawsuit because it actually turns out that no it wasn’t legal for this information to be handed over. Google are of course aware that cops don’t necessarily obey the law, so just because you’ve been asked to by a cop to provide something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s legal for you to hand it over.
It’s much simpler if they just don’t have this data. That way they can’t hand it over, so there’s no problem.
In this case an issue avoided is very much an issue solved.