A new Senate measure attempts to strengthen safeguards for Consumers’ health and location data. After the Supreme Court abolished the constitutional right to abortion last year, there were fears that such information may be used to identify persons seeking reproductive health care services.
The Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act prohibits firms from selling individually identifiable health data for advertising reasons, as well as data brokers from purchasing and selling exact location data. Furthermore, the proposed law would provide customers greater access to and control over their health data. It would also tighten prohibitions on corporations’ use of personal health data without the user’s explicit consent.
The bill’s goal is to make it illegal to utilise personally identifiable health data from any source for advertising purposes. This includes information from users, medical centres, fitness trackers, and browser histories. The limits imposed by the UPHOLD Privacy Act would not apply to public health initiatives.
Democrats Senators Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, and Mazie Hirono proposed the bill. “With Republicans seeking to restrict and criminalise reproductive health care across the country, it’s vital that we protect everyone’s reproductive data privacy,” Hirono said in a statement. “Everyone should be able to trust that sensitive information about their bodies and health care will be kept safe. This law, by prohibiting the sale and use of personally identifiable health data, would provide patients and clinicians with the assurance that their private information is protected.”
Legislators have made little progress in preserving consumer health data since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade last June. Apps for tracking menstrual cycles have raised some eyebrows. Several of these applications’ developers have now added features and rules to assist secure their users’ data.
The Federal Trade Commission announced shortly after the Supreme Court decision that it will take action against firms that exploit health and location data. The FCC moved this week to prohibit online counselling firm BetterHelp from using users’ health data for ad targeting without their agreement. According to the FTC, the corporation exchanged consumers’ email addresses, IP addresses, and health questionnaire replies. BetterHelp claims that clinical data from treatment sessions has never been shared with advertising, publishers, or social media businesses.
