U.S. tech industry frets about handing data to states prosecuting abortion

[groundloop]

Source: Reuters



The technology industry is bracing for the uncomfortable possibility of having to hand over pregnancy-related data to law enforcement, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Friday to overturn the Roe v. Wade precedent that for decades guaranteed a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. read more

As state laws limiting abortion kick in after the ruling, technology trade representatives told Reuters they fear police will obtain warrants for customers' search history, geolocation and other information indicating plans to terminate a pregnancy. Prosecutors could access the same via a subpoena, too.

The concern reflects how the data collection practices of companies like Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) have the potential to incriminate abortion-seekers for state laws that many in Silicon Valley oppose.

"It is very likely that there’s going to be requests made to those tech companies for information related to search histories, to websites visited," said Cynthia Conti-Cook, a technology fellow at the Ford Foundation.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-tech-industry-frets-about-handing-data-states-prosecuting-abortion-2022-06-24/

---

Recently Mississippi prosecutors charged a woman with murder after finding a search for "abortion medication" on her phone.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[SheltieLover]

2. Do not put your health data online!

MS - red shithole!

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. Insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and doctors

all keep records "on line".

[SheltieLover]

8. Yes, I know.

Some post on FB & menstrutation apps. Just don't do it.

[Miguelito Loveless]

9. Agreed,

but a lot of data is collected that you have no say over. A woman could find herself a "person of interest" because she buys a pregnancy test", or doesn't buy the right amount of menstrual products. They will mine data to find "criminals". The data is there to be mined and will be turned over when demanded, possibly without a warrant. And every policeman knows how to lie to get a warrant.

[Irish_Dem]

3. If businesses do not comply, the states will do what DeSantis did to Disney.

Disney has the talent and wealth to fight back.
Most regular businesses do not.

[ZonkerHarris]

4. use Duck Duck Go as a browser. easy to add to firefox

[Lonestarblue]

5. Probably not good enough. VPN is better.

I use Duck, Duck, Go and still get ads based on what I search for.

Even better is to have carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T include VPN in their packages. You can get basic VPN for free, but having it as part of your installation would ensure more people use it. Women f reproductive age who think use the phone healthcare trackers for their periods need to delete, delete, delete.

[NullTuples]

12. Cops can and do request data from ISPs and VPN companies

Last edited Fri Jun 24, 2022, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

The trick is to use a VPN company that is a) out of their jurisdiction and b) has stated they won't comply with out of jurisdiction requests.

Regarding any apps that have anything to do with monthly cycles, fertility, and so on - delete them all unless they're covered by HIPAA & require sign-in to your health care providers servers.

[Marthe48]

15. Thanks for the tips

I'll pass along if anyone needs to know.

[Dysfunctional]

19. I use a VPN and TOR together

[Earth-shine]

28. DuckDuckGo browser allows Microsoft trackers due to search agreement

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/duckduckgo-browser-allows-microsoft-trackers-due-to-search-agreement/

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. You can bet on this being the next step.

[DBoon]

10. Forbes: How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?sh=3679f2476668

Every time you go shopping, you share intimate details about your consumption patterns with retailers. And many of those retailers are studying those details to figure out what you like, what you need, and which coupons are most likely to make you happy. Target , for example, has figured out how to data-mine its way into your womb, to figure out whether you have a baby on the way long before you need to start buying diapers.

Charles Duhigg outlines in the New York Times how Target tries to hook parents-to-be at that crucial moment before they turn into rampant -- and loyal -- buyers of all things pastel, plastic, and miniature. He talked to Target statistician Andrew Pole -- before Target freaked out and cut off all communications -- about the clues to a customer's impending bundle of joy. Target assigns every customer a Guest ID number, tied to their credit card, name, or email address that becomes a bucket that stores a history of everything they've bought and any demographic information Target has collected from them or bought from other sources. Using that, Pole looked at historical buying data for all the ladies who had signed up for Target baby registries in the past.

If they can profile teen pregnancy, they can profile abortion too. And the results will be far worse than an irate father.

[bronxiteforever]

11. Kick & recommend for visibility. Birth control info too.

Thomas and Alito are gunning for birth control too.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

13. Clearly there's only one way to transmit sensitive data:

Carrier pigeons!

[NullTuples]

14. If there's no right to abortion privacy, there won't be for pregnancy privacy, either.

Remember how the creepy Christian Republicans in Texas charted detained immigrants' menstrual cycles?

There's not little if anything stopping law enforcement in red states from doing the same, or requesting it after the fact.

[RipVanWinkle]

16. https://digitaldefensefund.org/ddf-guides/abortion-privacy

https://digitaldefensefund.org/ddf-guides/abortion-privacy

I didn't read the entire page, but it appears to have a lot of useful information.

[iluvtennis]

17. Privacy policies with respect to our personal digital data will need to be tightened up. Our

cell phone data, laptop data, credit card purchasing data, etc should not be shared with anyone or any organization without us giving upfront approval.

====
note: I realize that this won't prevent legal warrants if one is being criminally investigated.

[ruet]

18. Don't Worry Tech Industry.

THEY will pass a law soon enough to make it easy for you.

[paleotn]

20. Welcome to Gilead.

[BlueIdaho]

21. If they stop snooping on Americans

There are no files to hand over. Easy Peasy.

[raising2moredems]

22. Then don't hand over

It is free speech and/or proprietary data. And really, how are those in states that live in the dark ages ever going to prove the company has information?

Time for all of us to use a VPN.

[ruet]

23. They Won't.

They'll sell it. ...like they always have.

[Wolf Frankula]

24. Don't do it

Confidential information is confidential information. If they don't have a warrant say, 'Gaan fok jouself.'

Wolf

[malthaussen]

25. A Constitutional problem similar to Fugitive Slave Laws.

The lawyers are going to get rich over the ensuing chaos.

-- Mal

[SWBTATTReg]

26. Simple to avoid tracking if you need to avoid it, just have your friend or someone close to you

buy the preg. kits. No one will be the wiser.

[OldBaldy1701E]

27. To all those people who swore that I was being paranoid about this stuff.

Those who said I was being silly and that they were just collecting what you shopped for so that they can make suggestions and nothing else. Those who laughed at me because I cautioned about always kept their various accounts logged in at all times without understanding that they are collecting data from every device synced with that account, since you conveniently left the door open for them. To all of them that thought I was being an 'old fart' for not 'getting it' and connecting everything to everything else and buying online instead of from brick and mortar... I say this in reply.



(Payback is a bitch, ain't it?)

Now maybe we can try to reign in the corporate world's massive intrusion into our lives even as they hide theirs from us more and more each day. I am not holding my breath, but maybe the threat of being dragged out of your home for not doing the 'right' thing because you missed your period (they will figure out a way to find this out whether you want them to or not soon enough, mark my words) will get some people off their tablets long enough to realize that the wonder device you are holding is a two way connection, regardless of whether you want to believe it or not.

[SouthernDem4ever]

29. Just tell them you don't have it

Repugs are too stupid to know either way.

[RainCaster]

30. I want to sign up for those women's monthly apps

Every dude needs to do this-and really screw up their stats.