Fearing a data manhunt will be weaponized against women seeking abortions and those who help them, privacy groups are warning that pregnancy-related information online could pose a serious legal risk and are urging tech companies to take action after America passed the law abortion revoked.
As states looked to ban or limit the trial following the landmark Supreme Court reversal, concerns grew that social media posts or information about apps could be used by authorities to create cases.
For example, geolocation data or an Internet search history could be used to frame women or those who help them in states that choose to ban abortion.
“This decision opens the door to law enforcement agencies and private bounty hunters looking for vast amounts of private data,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
“Tech companies need to step up and play a critical role in protecting women’s digital privacy,” she added.
Google, Facebook parent Meta and others track their users to sell ultra-targeted and personalized advertising space.
Although this information is anonymized, it remains accessible to authorities with a warrant.
Friday’s Supreme Court ruling gives all 50 states the freedom to ban the procedure, and at least eight have already done so.
Some laws, like one passed in Texas in September, encourage individuals to file lawsuits against women suspected of abortion.
The people helping the women can also be targeted, including, for example, an Uber driver who took them to the clinic.
More than 40 US Democratic lawmakers in May warned Google of risks posed by its data practices and urged changes.
“Google’s current practice of collecting and maintaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for right-wing extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive healthcare,” Google CEO Sundar said in a letter Pichai.
– “Unprecedented Digital Surveillance” –
Digital rights nonprofit group Fight For The Future echoed lawmakers’ plea in an online petition, calling for Google to get rid of location data that “could be used as a weapon against abortion patients and doctors.”
Google didn’t respond to a request for comment on Friday. Apple and Meta also didn’t respond to requests for comment.
SMS logs, email messages, and data from apps used to track menstrual cycles, for example, can contain important pregnancy-related data.
The company behind an app called Natural Cycles, which allows women to track fertility, told AFP it is working to ensure users remain completely anonymous in light of the Supreme Court ruling.
“The goal is that no one — not even us at Natural Cycles — can identify the user,” said spokeswoman Laura Hanafin.
People should tighten privacy settings on devices or platforms, disable location-aware features, and use messaging services that encrypt exchanges with encryption to prevent snooping, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) advised.
“There are actually things users can do to protect themselves, like using private browsing windows, reputable VPNs and encrypted messaging,” Corynne McSherry, EFF’s legal director, told AFP.
“But the burden should not lie solely with the user.”
Tech companies should allow anonymous access, quickly delete data, avoid location tracking, encrypt messages by default and more, the EFF says.
“The difference between now and the last time abortion was illegal in the United States is that we live in an era of unprecedented digital surveillance,” EFF Director of Cybersecurity Eva Galperin said in a tweet.
“If tech companies don’t want their data to be dragged into a trawl, they need to stop collecting that data now,” she added.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from California, has introduced legislation that would require companies to collect only the health information strictly necessary to provide their services.
“We shouldn’t leave it up to individuals to figure out how to delete things, which apps they can and can’t use,” she told AFP.
“It’s up to us as a government to do our job and protect sensitive health data,” she added.
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