Why has Roe vs Wade caused data privacy issues?

Access to safe sexual and reproductive healthcare and privacy have been intrinsically linked ever since the original 1973 Roe vs Wade case. That ruling stemmed from the "right to privacy", which, it was argued and won, included a women's right to choose to have an abortion.

The recent Dobbs decision has rendered that to be no longer the case, abolishing 50 years of the constitutional right to abortions, and attacking the fundamental human right to privacy.

In post-Roe America, access to abortion varies widely from state to state and the laws are changing quickly. Some states remain “legal” but are tightening restrictions while others like Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas had trigger laws in place that would all but ban abortions outright should Dobbs get passed. Which it did.

Now, for example, in Texas, performing an abortion is classed as a felony punishable by up to life in prison. The Texas ruling will also empower private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.

This means anyone who is suspected of helping someone receive an abortion, whether that's a ride to the clinic, financial aid, or offering advice could be sued for not less than $100,000, plus attorney's fees. A person seeking an abortion may not wish to tell anyone, even their closest family or friends, or reach out for help.

But it won't matter, they won't have to tell anyone. Because their online data will do it for them.

Privacy hanging in the balance

We now live in a “data age”, in which each and every piece of technology we use collects, stores, and trades immense amounts of personal data on an unprecedented scale.

In post-Roe America, femtech apps such as period trackers have suddenly become a treasure trove of data.

The reason these apps represent huge data privacy issues is that the data they collect could be requested by authorities in an abortion investigation or even by a next-door neighbor in a civil lawsuit.

What kind of data are we talking about?

Femtech is the term given to a rise of med-tech applications designed to improve women's understanding of their cycles and their bodies, but also to collect data that would be used in research to help push female health science forward.

The downside to that is that the data collected can be neatly packaged and sold to other entities such as Facebook and Google, and used for other purposes, such as targeted advertising. And now, in the wake of Roe vs Wade, that data could also be used as circumstantial evidence if someone suspects you of having an abortion.

Privacy-friendly browser Mozilla recently did a study into the top 25 reproductive health apps looking into the types of data they asked for and collected in the background. It varies from app to app but here's the type of data generally collected:

• Phone number, email, address, and gender
• Device ID, advertising ID, and IP address
• Weight and body temperature
• Cycle length and date of last period
• Ovulation windows
• Sexual activity
• Birth control methods
• Period due dates
• Pregnancy due date
• Cravings, mood, energy levels
• Number of pregnancies, miscarriages, or stillbirths
• Doctor's appointments
• Pregnancy symptoms

Even though this information is about your body and sexual and reproductive health, it doesn't come under the law's definition of “health data” and therefore not protected under the Health and Security Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Of course, not all period trackers share or sell your data, but even if you use an app with the most robust privacy policy, in “anonymous mode”, or you go as far as to delete the app entirely, your privacy is still at risk.

Because it's not just period trackers...

As mentioned, almost every website, app, digital device, fitness tracker, or technology we use is collecting reams of data on us. Our call histories, text messages, emails, location data, payment records, and even our browser search history— all of it can be used to build a prosecution case.

And it's already happening.

Facebook recently handed over more than 300 MB of data including private messages to authorities investigating an illegal abortion case in Nebraska.

In a six-month period (Jan – June 21) Google received more than 50,000 data requests from law enforcement in the form of subpoenas, search warrants, and other types of legal requests. And 82% of the time, Google data was handed over.

Thanks to the amount of data Google collects on us (it collects the most personal data out of all the Big Tech companies), it is increasingly becoming an unofficial policing tool.

Google has reported that instances of keyword and geofencing warrants have risen dramatically over the years. These warrants operate in a very gray area when it comes to constitutional rights. They don't just target the people under investigation, but they drag up data and details for tens to possibly tens of thousands of “innocent” people, violating their privacy.

• Keyword warrants: digital dragnets to identify anyone who has conducted a specific Google search.
• Geofencing warrants: requests for every device that has been to a certain location in a specific time period.

Data privacy issues going forward

The overturning of Roe vs Wade has highlighted the data-collecting practices of Big Tech companies. Never before has there been so much mainstream interest or outrage about data privacy issues.

Facebook received considerable backlash for its police cooperation, with #DeleteFacebook trending on Twitter. A few days after their compliance was made known, Facebook announced its plans to test end-to-end encryption as default on its Messenger service.

With end-to-end encryption (E2EE), only the people in the chat can see the chat details. Had this been in place before the Nebraska abortion case, Facebook wouldn't have been able to hand over any private messages because it wouldn't have had them in the first place.

Image Source: Twitter

After the Roe vs Wade decision, Google announced that it would delete user location history for visits to abortion clinics and fertility clinics, and add an option for Fitbit users to bulk-delete their menstruation data.

But hundreds of workers at Alphabet, Google's parent company, felt this wasn't enough, and that the company “can and should do better” in the new landscape of a post-Roe America. They signed a petition calling for the company to stop collecting data on abortion seekers altogether and to ensure that such data isn't shared with law enforcement.

Google seemed to listen and said that location data related to sensitive places such as fertility centers and abortion clinics would be erased. But a journalist for the Washington Post found that Google wasn't living up to its privacy promises.

Which brings us back to that old phrase: You can't hand over what you don't have.

How to protect your privacy in post-Roe America

Despite the promises offered by Big Tech companies, privacy in a post-Roe America is better dealt with on an individual basis.

To better navigate the data privacy issues and protect your data from authorities or your internet service provider, check out these tips:

Use a privacy-focused browser

Brave or Firefox are decent privacy-minded browsers with security options that limit tracking. Or consider downloading the Tor Browser which automatically clears your web history and cookies. You can also download an ad blocker to reduce the number of trackers.

Communicate with end-to-end encryption

Use messenger services that use E2EE such as Signal or Telegram. There are also privacy-focused email providers such as Proton which would make a better alternative to Gmail.

However, if your phone or device is taken as evidence, E2EE messages could still be used. Choose a service with “Disappearing messages”, a feature that enables users to set a time frame for the messages to be deleted from both sender and receiver's devices.

Use a VPN

Connect to the Internet via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to hide your IP address and your browser history from your Internet Service Provider. You can also get around any geo-blocks that may be put in place. Just be wary- even if the VPN says they have a strict no-logs policy, read the fine print. Most of them do collect data on their customers.

If they collect it, they can share it. So choose carefully. Bear in mind that VPNs also can't hide your digital fingerprints. Other privacy tools, such as Hoody, can though.

Privacy in post-Roe America is more important than ever

No matter where you stand on the Roe vs Wade overturning decision, you can't ignore its impact and the data privacy issues it brings. When personal data is weaponized against any group, in any way, we should all be alarmed. It's not just a sign of times to come, it's already here and already happening. Choosing to conduct your online business and communication with privacy tools is just one way to send a clear message to those in power. Privacy matters!

Sign up for Hoody and start enjoying absolute privacy and anonymity online today.