The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the federal right to abortion is likely to create a clash between state-by-state abortion restrictions and the patchwork of data privacy laws that are being legislated in the absence of a federal privacy law.
Even before the June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, privacy advocates, concerned that data on women seeking abortions could be used to target them, sounded alarms that women should be vigilant in the types of data and content they share with fertility and health apps and through social media. They also warned against bringing a phone or other device with location-tracking services to an abortion provider.
Although a handful of states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia have passed data privacy laws, and five others are considering similar measures, experts say it’s not clear how or whether such laws would protect women seeking abortions across state lines.
