Australian abortion and contraception provider MSI says it is being forced to pay thousands of dollars to a private company to continue advertising through Google.
Google should not be dictating health policy, says MSI Australia’s managing director, as the global search engine implements a new policy which threatens to harm abortion access.
In May, Google introduced a new global health and medicines policy requiring telehealth service providers to be certified to continue to advertise through the platform.
Australian telehealth providers will require certification from the Oregon-based provider LegitScript from August onwards.
According to Australia’s leading not-for-profit abortion and contraceptive services provider, MSI Australia, the certification will cost the organisation over $4700 in registration and annual fees.
MSI Australia’s managing director Greg Johnson said the new policy was a “blatant overreach” and a potential money grab, imposing “unnecessary barriers on trusted healthcare providers”.
“[MSI] has been providing safe, high-quality abortion and contraception services across Australia for over 20 years, our services are regulated and inspected by state and territory health departments, and our advertising regulated by Australian government authorities,” he said.
“The new Google policy ignores the comprehensive regulation by Australian authorities and tries to impose new ‘certification’ by an unknown US based for-profit company.
“This threatens to disrupt access to essential abortion and contraception services, particularly for those in rural regional areas who often rely on telehealth services.
“It is obvious Google’s new policy is not about protecting consumers.
“It may be about increasing Google’s profits.”
Mr Johnson called on Google to reconsider the “misguided” policy and work with healthcare providers to ensure customer protection without costing providers or harming consumer access.
“We already have extensive consumer protections in place through Australian regulatory bodies and quality assurance programs,” he said.
“Google’s new policy just adds an expensive, opaque layer of red tape and will ultimately cause harm to people who need care.
“We have informed relevant Federal Government ministers and departments of this issue.
“Google should not be dictating health policy in Australia.”
MSI’s director of clinical excellence Dr Catriona Melville seconded the critique of the new policy.
“Google’s new policy is not only unfair but also short-sighted,” she said.
“It potentially limits access to telehealth which has become a vital part of Australia’s healthcare system, since the covid pandemic.
“This new Google policy risks turning back the clock on progress and limiting access to critical services for women and pregnant people who need to access abortion via telehealth.
“We urge the Australian government to intervene and protect legitimate healthcare providers from this overreach by a foreign tech giant.”
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Greens senator and spokesperson for women Larissa Waters said “overstepping” was a common “bad habit” of Google.
“Unlike in the US, abortion and contraception is legal, telehealth is a vital part of our healthcare system, and people don’t need more barriers to information about either,” she said.
“Access to safe, legal abortion remains a postcode lottery in Australia, with different rules, costs and availability depending on where you live.
“The last thing we need in Australia is a US-based company regulating our access to information about reproductive healthcare.
“[Abortions] should be safe, accessible and freely available everywhere in Australia, including on Google.”
In response, a Google spokesperson told The Medical Republic that the policy aimed to “ensure that people can safely access these services, while complying with relevant laws and industry standards”.
According to the spokesperson, the policy was updated to maintain consumer safety amid a worldwide boom in telehealth services.
“Many telemedicine providers in Australia and around the world have completed this certification process and are successfully running ads on our platforms,” they added.
Google is continuing to work with MSI to clarify the policy and assist in the certification process.
