The Supreme Court's decision to prohibit abortion in a landmark overturn of the Roe v. Wade case on Friday, June 24, raised fresh challenges about whether and how internet businesses should secure the information of consumers seeking reproductive health care.
Roe v. Wade Overturn Might Affect Tech Firms
Tech businesses are expected to deal with user privacy problems relating to reproductive health issues. This is especially true in cases where companies are likely to be forced by a judge to turn over specific categories of data, such as abortion clinic users' location information, search history, or text messages.
Even before the US Supreme Court made its decision public, lawmakers have already been pushing Google and the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that data for internet users seeking medical treatment was safeguarded in the event that the historic Roe v. Wade ruling is overturned.
Concerned about the ramifications of the court verdict, data privacy experts believe there are steps both tech businesses and their customers can do to secure their data in the post-Roe future better.
Are Tech Platforms Unsafe Now? The Risk Can Still Be Addressed
In a recent blog post, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) stated that reducing data collection and storage for digital platforms might help mitigate the risk of personal data being the target of an inquiry. The organization recommends that businesses reduce behavioral tracking, limit the sorts of data they gather to only what is essential, and encrypt data by default so that outsiders cannot easily read it.
The EFF also recommends tech giants to exercise discretion and oppose inappropriate demands whenever they come, such as requesting a search engine for information on a search phrase like "abortion" or geofence warrants that order data on every device in a certain location, such as an abortion facility. If enterprises are still compelled to comply with the requests, they should at the very least warn users about them.
Dana Sussman, deputy executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, believes that internet corporations should maximize the resources at their disposal to push back against court demands urging them to surrender internet-based information on abortion or pregnancy loss instances.
While many internet businesses may like to remain politically neutral, Corynne McSherry, legal director at EFF, believes that "companies should always be sticking up for their people with privacy no matter what the topic is." And now is their moment to do so."
McSherry believes that if computer firms do not take steps to secure the information of people seeking abortions, their staff will pressure them to do so, as they have in the past.
How Can You Protect Data From Government Overreach?
McSherry gave a few fundamental first steps that customers may take to preserve their data privacy. A privacy-focused search engine or browser that by default limits data collection or retention is necessary. These can be DuckDuckGo, Firefox, Brave, or any other private browsing window that does not preserve the search history.
Customers must also only use end-to-end, encrypted communication platforms when sending critical information.
According to McSherry, "privacy is a communal activity," which implies that customers should consider the privacy and security of their own devices and services and those of their friends, family, and providers with whom they connect.
