FTC warns tech companies against misusing health data, following Biden’s executive order protecting abortion access

Washington CNN Business — Tech companies and data brokers that misuse or misrepresent how they handle Americans’ personal data, including reproductive health information, may find themselves on the hook with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency warned this week. “The misuse of mobile location and health information – including reproductive health data – exposes consumers to significant harm,” the FTC said in a blog post. “The exposure of health information and medical conditions, especially data related to sexual activity or reproductive health, may subject people to discrimination, stigma, mental anguish, or other serious harms.” It added: “The Commission is committed to using the full scope of its legal authorities to protect consumers’ privacy. We will vigorously enforce the law if we uncover illegal conduct that exploits Americans’ location, health, or other sensitive data.” In particular, the FTC said, regulators will closely scrutinize corporate claims that Americans’ data has been or will be “anonymized,” in light of substantial research showing that it can be trivial to reverse-engineer a person’s identity from anonymized datasets.