from the why-stop-at-just-reproductive-data? dept.
Democrats introduce bill to ban collection of reproductive health data:
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation Tuesday that would bar companies from retaining data about users' reproductive health without consent.
The bill would also give people the power to demand companies disclose and delete the data as well as the power to sue companies for violations of the law.
[...] The Democrats' My Body, My Data Act would protect personal data collected by entities not currently covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), including data collected by apps, cellphones and search engines.
Also see: Pass the "My Body, My Data" Act:
Privacy fears should never stand in the way of healthcare. That's why this common-sense bill will require businesses and non-governmental organizations to act responsibly with personal information concerning reproductive health care. Specifically, it restricts them from collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing reproductive health information that isn't essential to providing the service someone asks them for.
These restrictions apply to companies that collect personal information related to a person's reproductive or sexual health. That includes information such as data related to pregnancy, menstruation, surgery, termination of pregnancy, contraception, basal body temperature or diagnoses. The bill would protect people who, for example, use fertility or period-tracking apps or are seeking information about reproductive health services.
[...] Finally, while Rep. Jacobs' bill establishes an important national privacy foundation for everyone, it also leaves room for states to pass stronger or complementary laws to protect the data privacy of those seeking reproductive health care.
(Score: -1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2022, @10:35PM (6 children)
How is this different than existing HIPPA laws? Or is this just typical "feel good" nonsense? Oh, wait, Mazie Hirono is involved. She's the queen of stupid nonsense.
(Score: 5, Touché) by tangomargarine on Thursday June 30 2022, @11:05PM (4 children)
The abortion privacy dangers in period trackers and apps [bbc.com]
If by "feel good" you mean "don't get thrown in prison for going out of state to have an abortion", sure.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Immerman on Thursday June 30 2022, @11:52PM
In the light of the current destruction of rights, I can definitely see the urgency of this bill.
However, there's a lot of apps that collect health data that can be readily abused by interested parties. It strikes me that the "correct" response would be to protect *all* health information, with perhaps an explicit callout for reproductive health information so that nobody can claim they didn't know it was included.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Saturday July 02 2022, @12:16AM (2 children)
Geez, the moderators seem to be out in force. I can't even remember the last time I got a +5 anything, and yet they're all over this thread.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Saturday July 02 2022, @12:18AM
This and the one about AC posting
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday July 02 2022, @12:33AM
I wonder if not having a huge number of spammy ACs to down-mod is leaving folks with more mod points to spend on worthwhile posts?
Also, the topic at hand is an extremely significant one - for basically the first time in US history the government has stripped away rights it previously granted, and did so for a majority of the population.
Throw in the neutering of Miranda rights, and the big shot across the bow of religious freedom, and things are getting pretty scary. Not that surprising to see posts pointing out the significance getting upvoted.
(Score: 5, Touché) by helel on Thursday June 30 2022, @11:31PM
I don't know if someone who can't read is really in a position to call others the "queen of stupid."
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday July 01 2022, @12:21AM (8 children)
All of a sudden, data should be private? But, only certain data? Just reproductive data? Why, exactly, is that one particular set of data so very sensitive, suddenly?
I want ALL OF MY DATA to be equally protected. That is, no corporation or government agency has any right accessing any data, full stop. Facebook executives, for instance, should be facing time in prison for collecting all the data they have on everyday Americans. Zuck and his fellow investors should be paying us, for violating our privacy.
Take out all references to "reproductive health", give the bill some real teeth, and I will probably go along with it. Then I expect government to go after all those 'hi tech' eavesdroppers, peeping toms, and assorted other data collectors.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday July 01 2022, @01:25AM (1 child)
Because this is the hotbutton issue of the day, obviously. The average person on the street doesn't understand or care about their PII/medical data in general. You ride the popular support to get done what you can.
Also, I wish I could feel justified modding your comment Troll solely for your new signature. You know damn well that that was the Democratic-Republicans, like 5 two-party systems ago, and not in any way relevant to our current system.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday July 01 2022, @04:08PM
PII/medical data is ALREADY protected. The data we are discussing right now IS NOT.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Thexalon on Friday July 01 2022, @11:11AM (3 children)
Because one of our two major political parties, in control of many state governments, has announced their intention to direct law enforcement to use that particular set of data as evidence to punish their residents for doing legal things in other states. In short, the misuse of this data in particular has gone from a theoretical possibility to something that is by all appearances actually happening.
It would be like if you live in a weed-illegal state, you and your doctor agree weed would help you deal with a medical condition, and you travel to another state to a legal dispensary to get and smoke some cannabis, and when you come back you get arrested because the cops were informed from Google that your phone went to that dispensary. That's what states like Texas have made it clear they intend to do when it comes to reproductive data.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Redundant) by Runaway1956 on Friday July 01 2022, @11:57AM (2 children)
It appears that you miss the point, or you're glossing over the point.
Private data is private data. Doesn't matter which sorts of data. Your personal finances are personal, and should not be shared among the world's corporations. Your health data is personal, and Facebook shouldn't be accessing it through their apps. So-called "reproductive health", being a subset of "health data" should never be accessed by anyone other than those specific healthcare providers that you authorize. Your sexual preferences and habits are personal, no government agency, no corporation should be accessing that data.
We can go on, but the real point is, government and corporation hoover up every scrap of data, no matter how personal.
If privacy were respected, none of that data would be available to anyone. This particular "hotbutton issue of the day", as tangomargarine puts it, should never have become an issue.
Privacy is a concept we all seem to have forgotten.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday July 01 2022, @09:27PM (1 child)
I agree that protecting all data under the law would be better. Maybe something like the EU GDPR would be a start.
But I understand why they're focusing on this one, and I'd rather they get this done than follow their instincts and do nothing on this issue.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday July 01 2022, @09:50PM
And, I am opposed to carving out some special class of data to be kept private, because, no one will ever get around to addressing all those other classes of data to which no one is entitled.
It's near the same problem with carving out segments of the population, and making them 'protected classes'. It creates first and second class citizens, if not more classes. Assaulting one man might get you a month in the county lockup, but assaulting another man could get you sent to a federal prison for life. The same assault should get the same punishment, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, or whatever.
Yeah, age. Two years ago, if someone punched me in the nose, it would have been a simple assault and battery. Today, the same assault would get all the same charges, plus 'abuse of a senior citizen'. Imagine that, huh?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday July 01 2022, @04:05PM (1 child)
ALL DATA MATTERS!
My Soylent News posts are the EXACT SAME as data that will get me thrown in jail...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 01 2022, @04:49PM
Probably yes. Right after the Ultra Right Christian Taliban Theocracy government is seated, your leftist posts will be reviewed.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday July 01 2022, @03:31AM
You means like women should stop using menstrual cycle tracking apps post Roe v. Wade repeal, in case the data is subpoenaed and used against them as evidence that they had an abortion?
(Score: 0, Troll) by crafoo on Friday July 01 2022, @02:21PM (2 children)
It's not healthcare data, it's evidence in a murder conviction.
(Score: 5, Touché) by cmdrklarg on Friday July 01 2022, @03:21PM (1 child)
OK, cool. Time to start arresting and imprisoning women en masse.
Why, do you ask? Because women who miscarry have obviously been involved in the death of their babies; that should count for manslaughter at the very least. Ditto those whose embryos failed to implant in the womb, which happens in about 40% of fertilized eggs. That is at minimum unintentional manslaughter. It's a baby at conception, after all!
Answer now is don't give in; aim for a new tomorrow.
(Score: 4, Informative) by tangomargarine on Friday July 01 2022, @05:56PM
El Salvador's abortion ban: 'I was sent to prison for suffering a miscarriage' [bbc.com]
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"