Privacy and moderation: After the Roe reversal, tech companies are grappling with how to handle abortion-related data and posts on their platforms

Big Tech in the spotlight... Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a giant question mark looms over how tech companies will handle users’ abortion-related data and content on their platforms. (FYI: Nearly half of US states are expected to ban or limit abortion — and 13 already have.)

• On the privacy side: People worry that authorities could subpoena data in states where abortion is outlawed, and use it as evidence in criminal cases.
• On the moderation side: Some worry that platforms that ban posts promoting illegal activities (think: illicit drugs, violence) could also remove content promoting abortion access.
• On the record: Meta, Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit have been mostly silent over how they’ll handle abortion-related data and posts. On Friday, Google said it would delete user location history for abortion-clinic visits.

Sensitive info... Each year, tech companies receive thousands of requests for user data from local, state, and federal law enforcement — and they typically comply with the vast majority of requests. Meanwhile, most big tech companies have policies outlining how they moderate illegal content.

• Data: Officials in abortion cases could request info on everything from Facebook messages to Google location data to ovulation-kit purchases on Amazon. Period-tracking apps are already scrambling to anonymize user data over concerns it could be used in criminal cases.
• Content: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects tech companies from being held legally liable for content posted on their platforms. Still, they often remove content that violates their policies. Abortion could fall under policies banning illegal or violent content.