Google said on Tuesday that it would be limiting the access that the federal government has to its massive collection of user location data, even as it said it would help the government try to slow the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Because of Google Maps and its line of Android devices, Google handles large amounts of detailed location data from its users. Federal officials pointed to this data as a potential resource to help track the movements of Americans during the pandemic and have been in recent talks with Google and its competitors.
