Justin Sherman reports: The leak of the draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade has prompted numerous stories about the privacy of health data. For instance, Vice reported that data broker SafeGraph was collecting and selling the GPS locations of people who visited abortion clinics—in many cases, likely without their knowledge. There have also been numerous concerns raised about period tracking apps and other technologies…
Category: Laws
Colorado Privacy Act: The Cannabis Industry Prepares for Enforcement
Jeremy Meisinger of Foley Hoag LLP writes: As we wrote last year, Colorado is among the vanguard of privacy-focused states—including California, Washington, and Virginia—to adopt significant state-level privacy legislation. One year out from enforcement of the Colorado Privacy Act (which begins on July 1, 2023), businesses should begin to put their compliance frameworks in place, as some of…
Guess What? HIPAA Isn’t a Medical Privacy Law
Thomas Germain of Consumer Reports writes: You hear about HIPAA all the time. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is described on forms at the doctor; it’s referenced in privacy policies; it’s even mentioned on the news. Unfortunately, one of the most common things you hear is a misconception. Many people believe that HIPAA…
Victory! New York’s Vaccine Privacy Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
Malaika Fraley writes: In a win for medical privacy in the Empire State, the New York Legislature has passed a pivotal bill that protects people’s private immunity information like COVID-19 vaccine status from being used to track their movements and be used against them in unauthorized ways. The Electronic Frontier Foundation advocated for the bill, now headed to…