The Biden White House has taken a step to address some of the privacy issues that were raised after the Supreme Court ruling was overturned. Roe v. Wade. In a new Addressing access to abortion and other issues, the White House hinted that it was trying to strengthen privacy protections for those seeking reproductive health care, though it’s unclear exactly what that means. which book may change as a result of this action.
The order points to a “potential threat to patient privacy due to the transfer and sale of sensitive health-related data and by digital surveillance.” And it does provide some guidance to other agencies, like the FTC, though it stops at proposing new regulations.
Instead, the order appears to leave much to the discretion of the FTC and the Department of Health and Human Services. For example, it said that the chair of the FTC “is encouraged to consider actions…to protect consumer privacy when seeking information about and providing reproductive health services.” It also said that the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should “consider actions to educate consumers on how best to protect their health privacy and limit the collect and share sensitive information regarding their health.”
Biden’s executive order comes after privacy advocates and activists have warned that a lack of federal privacy regulations could have for those seeking abortion after-Roe. Cycle tracking apps have received a lot of attention, but experts say the problem is much deeper than just one type of app. And while the executive order has nothing to do with issues like data brokering or the massive collection of personal information by tech companies, the issue has attracted the attention of Congress. On the same day as Biden’s executive order, a group of Democrats from the House Oversight Committee came out into five data brokers and the companies behind five popular cycle tracking apps.
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