Progressive members of Congress have insisted that Google must cease
to collect and keep location tracking data from its customers' phones.
I think this is the first acknowledgment by members of Congress that
tracking location data about people directly endangers them. That is
an important step forward. However, this specific demand is too
narrow to do the job, because the problem is bigger than Google.
Many companies track location data through apps, and sell them to
other companies that we have never heard of. Rabid antiabortion
officials in states such as Texas could send subpoenas to any of those
companies. Google (and likewise Apple) must ensure that _no_ location
data is ever sent to an app unless the user manually authorizes
sending it at that very moment.
Users should be able to send false locations too, whenever they wish.
People have not yet realized that this is another reason why we must
make sure paying by cash remains widespread and easy. You must not
ever identify yourself during a trip to another state for an abortion.
Nor even before you leave, if it is in connection with the trip.
- You must get cash to pay for the abortion before you depart.
- You must not use Uber or Lyft (they require digital payment
which identifies the customer).
- You must not pay for a bus by credit card, or give your real name or
phone number for the ticket.
- You must not pay for an Amtrak train by credit card, or give your
real name for the ticket. Unfortunately, that means you can't ride
some Amtrak trains at all, since they require reservations and a
reservation requires giving your name and ID to prove it.