Privacy advocates fear Google will be used to prosecute abortion seekers

Google announced that it would delete location data showing when people visit abortion providers, but privacy experts, and some Google employees, want the company to do more to safeguard data. (Jeff Chiu/AP)

Jeff Chiu / Jeff Chiu

When police are trying to solve a crime, they often turn to Google for help.

It makes sense since the Silicon Valley giant has grown into a nearly $1.6 trillion company on the strength of its most valuable asset: Data on billions of people.

And often, finding out where someone was at the time of a crime, or what they were Googling before a crime occurs, can be pivotal to investigators.