Privacy laws, like HIPAA, are generally limited to one specific area and don’t account for new technology like cell phones, computers and smartwatches that can capture sensitive information, he said. “The reason why all these privacy harms are possible is because we have sectored privacy laws that are outdated,” said Andrew Crawford, senior policy counsel at the Privacy and Data Project, in an interview Wednesday.
However, the law only requires very specific “covered entities” including health care providers and insurers to keep the health data private. Typically people perceive their health-related information as protected because of privacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. “People are buying that information and using it to target individuals, which is terrifying,” Fitzgerald said. Or, as in Texas, individuals can potentially purchase information from data brokers, which they can exchange for a bounty, Fitzgerald explained, referring to a story by a Vice reporter who bought a week’s worth of location data of people visiting a clinic for $160. Now, the stakes are highest for people seeking abortions from states looking to criminalize them where law enforcement could subpoena for such data, she said. Overall companies have an abundance of personal data down to the keystrokes people type on online forms, Fitzgerald explained. That includes information including medical procedures and products people may search about online or their location down to the clinics they frequent, she said.
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