Venny Ala-Siurua, Executive Director of Women on Web:
Google’s algorithm is endangering access to Women on Web’s online abortion
service
At least three times a year, Women on Web is forced to go through a stressful
process that shapes our online strategy and work activities for months
afterwards and has the power to paralyze or enhance our online abortion
service. This process has nothing to do with the dedication of our staff nor
with the number of individuals that we support in accessing safe abortions.
Instead, it is an exercise powered by Google. It is called the Google Core
Update, which is an update to Google’s algorithm that is rolled out several
times a year to improve the quality and relevance of its search engine’s
results.
The impact of Google Core Updates
Women on Web has been operating for over 15 years and our website has been
re-evaluated numerous times by Google. However, it wasn’t until May 2020 that
we fully grasped the power that these updates have over our service and the
viability of our organization. During the May 2020 update, Women on Web lost
80% of its website traffic and as an abortion service that almost exclusively
operates online, this update had a devastating impact on our operations. As a
result, fewer people have been finding us on the Internet and we’ve seen a
sharp decline in help requests to our service.
On November 17th 2021, Google’s most recent update started and once again it
felt like the rug was pulled out from under us. Right away we started to see a
sharp decline in our traffic, while we know very well that the demand for
remote services and abortions didn’t decline; individuals needed our service on
November 18th as much as they did the day before. The only thing that changed
was the algorithm.
The thousands of women and pregnant people who access our service every year
should be a sufficient testament of our expertise, trustworthiness and
authority that should not be debated by the algorithm several times a year.
Still, Google has the power to determine whether we operate a relevant service
for people needing abortions, even in countries where our telemedicine abortion
service remains the only safe and affordable way to end unwanted pregnancies.
Google’s algorithm does not represent the needs of women seeking abortions
To be clear, we understand why these updates exist and we are not protesting
against strategies to ensure that search results correspond to the search
intentions of people browsing the Internet. Instead, we are arguing that
Google, through these updates, is not improving its search results or
delivering relevant content for its users because people looking for safe
abortions can no longer find our service. When Google de-ranks our website, the
tech giant is not able to offer other more relevant websites on top of its
search results simply because they don’t exist. Is the algorithm able to
interpret the search intent of someone with an unwanted pregnancy living in a
country with no access to abortions? Can the algorithm read the preferences of
people looking for not just abortion care, but an online abortion service? We
don’t think it can.
Women on Web’s online abortion service is unique and reaches some of the most
remote regions in the world. The service has provided over 100,000 medical
abortion services since 2005 and published over 20 scientific papers on the
positive outcomes of the service. Access to our service and safe abortions
should not be decided by algorithms and instead a vital service like ours
should be protected from these updates. Google needs to become accountable for
the damage these updates cause and acknowledge that its algorithms are not
neutral. They are built and trained by humans with specific backgrounds,
intentions and blind spots. These are people who are disconnected from the
global realities of abortion rights and access, and are therefore incapable of
making accurate and unbiased decisions for women and pregnant people needing
abortion services.
Help us counter the Google Core Update
Our service is vital and needs to be visible. Please share our website and
service within your networks and advocate for holding big tech responsible for
protecting online access to essential services.
--
Jo van der Spek, M2M Amsterdam
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