Lack of Data Privacy Amidst Roe v. Wade
My health is not your data to steal
Going somewhere? We constantly use the maps feature of our phones to get from point A to point B. And just like that, we present our location to companies like Google and Apple who sell it to advertisers and other third-party groups focused on their self-interests. Every time we visit a website or download an app, we give the companies behind them our information, from basics like our name to deeply intimate details. What could this mean for users whose data is linked to reproductive health and rights? Everything.
The liminal status of Roe v. Wade puts abortion access in danger; more than 14 states look to outlaw the practice immediately if it is overturned. For women in these states, the data that tech companies hold could be used against them in a court of law. This violation of privacy can aid the criminalization of abortion through the vulnerability of our data and the lack of adequate legislation to protect it.
Obtaining the location data of those who go to abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood facilities is frighteningly easy. Vice’s Motherboard obtained a week’s worth of such data for just over $160. With this data accessible to those with malicious intentions, abortion-seekers may not be able to cross state lines without facing imprisonment due to state laws prohibiting residents from getting an abortion in a different state.
Last year, a branch of Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles was hacked, compromising the information of more than 400,000 patients. Even though the information seems not to have been used for vindictive purposes, the next hack could jeopardize thousands, if not millions, of individuals. To safeguard the data of the public, lawmakers need to reform their policies immediately.
Flo, one of the most popular period-tracking apps, boasts 43 million active users. For these millions of users, tracking one’s menstrual cycle is an important part of reproductive health, as it’s essential to family planning and avoiding unplanned pregnancies. However, Flo and other period-tracking apps collect data about when millions of their users’ periods start or end. Even more worrisome, these apps track the length or even termination of a pregnancy. According to Alan Butler, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, this could be used as evidence in court if abortion is criminalized, further putting abortion-seekers at risk.
While these seem like hypothetical situations, Flo has already shared personal health data with users’ employers and marketing firms despite promises to keep user data secure. Worse yet, Flo lies about compromising the data of its users and takes no accountability for their actions.
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which protects patient and healthcare-provider interactions from third parties, does not cover these period-tracking apps. It’s the cruel reality that they can legally share that information with third parties.
Regulations regarding the sale of data are weak at best. There’s no federal legislation for data privacy and thus no consequences. Tech companies have free reign over our data and are not being held accountable for taking advantage of the public for profit.
Out of the fifty states, there are only three (California, Colorado, and Virginia) with privacy laws, leaving millions of people from other states vulnerable. That is not enough–there should be privacy laws that encompass all fifty.
How exactly is our data secured under the current legislation, especially when the right to bodily autonomy is being violated by ignorant and technologically illiterate lawmakers?
Companies alone cannot make the changes necessary to protect their users. Before Roe v. Wade is overturned, data privacy laws need to be passed to protect all of us.