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Rampant Data Broker Sale of Pregnancy Data Gets Fresh Scrutiny Post Roe

posted by janrinok on Tuesday August 16 2022, @10:37AM   
from the the-check-is-coming-due-for-apathy dept.

upstart writes:

Rampant Data Broker Sale Of Pregnancy Data Gets Fresh Scrutiny Post Roe:

For decades now, privacy advocates warned we were creating a dystopia through our rampant over-collection and monetization of consumer data. And just as often, those concerns were greeted with calls of "consumers don't actually care about privacy" from overly confident white guys in tech.

Nothing has exposed those flippant responses as ignorant quite like the post-Roe privacy landscape, in which basic female health data can now be weaponized to ruin the lives of those seeking abortions, or those trying to help women obtain foundational health care. Either by states looking to prosecute them, or individual right wing hardliners who often have easy, cheap access to the exact same information.

The latest case in point: Gizmodo did a deep dive into the largely unaccountable data broker space and discovered there are currently 32 different data brokers selling pregnancy status data on 2.9 billion consumer profiles.

Via browsing, app, promotion, and location data, those consumers are quickly deemed "actively pregnant" or "shopping for maternity products." Another 478 million customer profiles are actively labeled "interested in pregnancy" or "intending to become pregnant." As is usually the case, companies (the ones that could be identified) claimed it was no big deal because the data is "anonymized":

Related: Okay, Google: To Protect Women, Collect Less Data About Everyone

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Original Submission

• I see the problem... I see the problem... (Score: 4, Insightful) by GlennC on Tuesday August 16 2022, @12:40PM (1 child)

  by GlennC (3656) on Tuesday August 16 2022, @12:40PM (#1266953)

  It is congress' job to protect all of us.

  Congress, along with the Executive Branch, abdicated that job long ago.

  They're more interested in protecting themselves and their "campaign contributions."

  I thought this was common knowledge.

  --
  Sorry folks...the world is bigger and more varied than you want it to be. Deal with it.

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
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• Re:I see the problem... (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 16 2022, @04:34PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 16 2022, @04:34PM (#1267000)

  They were convinced by the neoliberal logic that everything has a price and there is no other inherent value to anything except the money you get for it. Privacy is just a commodity - how much are you prepared to pay for it? Human rights, oooh expensive! Laws, ditto. If the weak can't defend themselves, screw them *CHEERING*

  Parent