Abortion bounty hunters could use location data to track down patients
2 years, 7 months ago

Abortion bounty hunters could use location data to track down patients

Salon  

This article originally appeared at Common Dreams. A location data firm said Wednesday that it would no longer sell information about people who visit abortion clinics after reporting on the company's sales raised alarm, but privacy advocates warned that strict regulation is needed to protect patients from such sales—particularly in light of news that abortion rights are likely to be rolled back by the U.S. Supreme Court. Vice reported Tuesday that data firm SafeGraph has sold sets of aggregated location data regarding people who have visited abortion clinics including Planned Parenthood, showing where patients travel from, how much time they spend at the healthcare centers, and where they go afterwards. The report sparked outcry from rights advocates including Frederike Kaltheuner, director for technology and human rights at Human Rights Watch, who said activities like SafeGraph's represent "what lack of data regulation means in practice." Under laws like one that's currently being debated in Missouri, which would allow residents to sue women who leave the state to obtain abortion care, "location data like this could be used to build the case against a woman," said Democratic strategist Max Burns.

History of this topic

Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location
55 years ago
Reproductive rights are under attack using online data. These tools help people protect themselves
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Some states are trying to protect health care data so it isn’t used against people seeking abortions
10 months, 3 weeks ago
Abortion rights vs Big Tech: A major privacy win against “corporate surveillance”
11 months, 4 weeks ago
FTC accuses data broker of selling sensitive location data
2 years, 4 months ago
How data from period-tracking and pregnancy apps could be used to prosecute pregnant people
2 years, 4 months ago
EXPLAINER: Online privacy in a post-Roe world
2 years, 4 months ago
Opinion: The dangers of abortion misinformation
2 years, 5 months ago
FTC warns tech companies against misusing health data, following Biden’s executive order protecting abortion access
2 years, 5 months ago
Google to erase more location info as abortion bans expand
2 years, 6 months ago
Data privacy concerns make the post-Roe era uncharted territory
2 years, 6 months ago
EXPLAINER: Data privacy concerns emerge after Roe decision
2 years, 6 months ago
EXPLAINED | Abortion, tech and surveillance
2 years, 6 months ago
Will US Tech Industry be Forced to Hand Over Data for Prosecuting Abortions? Activists Express Fears
2 years, 6 months ago
After Roe, Dems seek probe of tech’s use of personal data
2 years, 6 months ago
How your phone could be used in abortion criminalization
2 years, 6 months ago
Democrats urge Google to stop steering abortion patients to ‘fake clinics’ in search results
2 years, 6 months ago
With Roe in doubt, some fear tech surveillance of pregnancy
2 years, 7 months ago
With Roe in doubt, some fear tech surveillance of pregnancy
2 years, 7 months ago
Op-Ed: The end of Roe means we’ll be criminalized for more of our data
2 years, 7 months ago
How to Protect Your Digital Privacy if Roe v. Wade Falls
55 years ago
Trump administration wants to use Americans’ location data to track the coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

Discover Related