Biden executive order on abortion access aims to address privacy issues

The Biden White Home took a step towards shoring up a few of the privateness points which were raised following the Supreme Courtroom ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. In a brand new addressing abortion entry and different points, the White Home urged that it’s attempting to extend privateness protections for folks in search of reproductive healthcare, although it’s not clear what insurance policies could change on account of the motion.

The order factors to “the potential risk to affected person privateness brought on by the switch and sale of delicate health-related knowledge and by digital surveillance.” And it provides some steering to different businesses, just like the FTC, although it stops wanting proposing new laws.

As an alternative, the order appears to depart a lot on the discretion of the FTC and the Division of Well being and Human Providers. For instance, it says the chair of the FTC is “is inspired to think about actions … to guard customers’ privateness when in search of details about and provision of reproductive healthcare companies.” It additionally states that the Lawyer Normal and the Secretary of Well being and Human Providers ought to “think about actions to teach customers on how finest to guard their well being privateness and restrict the gathering and sharing of their delicate health-related info.”

Biden’s government order comes after privateness advocates and activists have warned that the dearth of federal privateness laws might have for folks in search of abortions post-Roe. Interval monitoring apps have gotten outsize consideration, however specialists say the difficulty runs far deeper than only one sort of app. And whereas the manager order doesn’t contact on points like knowledge brokers or the huge assortment of non-public info by tech firms, the difficulty has gotten the eye of Congress. On the identical day as Biden’s government order, a bunch of Democrats from the Home Oversight Committee launched into 5 knowledge brokers and the businesses behind 5 common cycle monitoring apps.