The US Supreme Court overturned the liberal abortion law last week. The path is therefore clear for abortion to be banned in numerous states. But where there are bans, there is also spying and denunciations. In some countries there should even be a reward for those who abuse people who want to have an abortion, writes futurezone .

The extent of the curtailment of women's right to self-determination goes even further:

Abortion clinic websites could be tracked and the data passed on to authorities. The first horror scenarios of how abortions could be prevented and women could be criminalized are already spreading in the media. Digitalization makes it possible.

Eva Galperin from the civil rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) points out that “we live in an unprecedented age of digital surveillance.” This is different from the last time abortion was banned.

The digital footprint

EFF fears that authorities could use Google to find out who was in the immediate vicinity of an abortion clinic.

Apps such as the menstrual app, which collects a lot of data, could also become problematic. After all, they also record if you miss your period.

If there is concrete suspicion, authorities can order a court order that certain data must be released.

Sensitive data could also be sold to abortion opponents via smartphone apps.

The persecution and criminalization of women is possible through data collection by tech companies. An investigation by Reveal and The Markup reveals that Facebook collects highly sensitive personal data about abortion seekers and allows anti-abortion organizations to use this data to influence people. Facebook should actually recognize and block sensitive health data. But research by Reveal and The Markup shows the opposite.

According to a report in futurezone, the extent of the persecution is even greater. “Facebook gives abortion opponents the opportunity to even send misleading advertising to this target group,” the article says. And further: “False information is often spread, such as that someone can get cancer from an abortion.”

Google is also criticized by the civil rights organization EFF because in some US states the search for “abortion clinic near me” leads to anti -abortion clinics. The non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate discovered and published such cases. Google encourages users to report these misplaced centers.

Package of demands for more privacy

EFF calls on tech companies to stop collecting data immediately. Usage behavior or location history may not be saved.

EFF also requires the possibility of anonymous use of the services and end-to-end encryption for data transmission.

Politicians are calling for more privacy protection. derstandard.at reports that politicians themselves also see it this way. Four Democratic senators are calling for an investigation into Apple and Google, which play a key role in “turning online advertising into a comprehensive surveillance system based on the virtually unrestricted collection of data.”
The letter states, among other things:

“Data brokers are already selling, licensing, and sharing the location information of people that visit abortion providers to anyone with a credit card. Prosecutors in states where abortion is illegal will soon be able to obtain warrants for location information about anyone who has visited an abortion provider. Private actors will also be incentivized by state bounty laws to hunt down women who have obtained or are seeking an abortion by accessing location information through shady data brokers.”

In it, the senators warn against data traders who are already selling and sharing location information about people who visit an abortion clinic. Prosecutors in states where abortion is illegal will soon be able to use location information to obtain arrest warrants on anyone who has visited an abortion provider. Private citizens are encouraged to hunt down women who have had or are planning to have an abortion by accessing location information through shady data brokers.

Reactions from tech companies

Apple and Google emphasize that they will not resell any data. As is known, Meta has banned discussions among employees on the topic of abortion in order to avoid a hostile work environment ( HERE ). However, travel and health costs for employees who have to travel to another state to have an abortion would be covered. Google, Amazon and Apple have similar rules. The companies have not yet issued a statement on how they will deal with court orders that affect abortions.

By the way: Work is underway on menstrual apps that can store sensitive data in such a way that companies cannot release it in the event of a court order.

Source: futurezone , derstandard.at , Reveal , Arstechnica , letter from the US senators

Also interesting: advertising ban for abortion lifted


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