<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656096839365,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656096839365,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56088142", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1039680"} }); ","_id":"00000181-9710-ddcb-a3e1-df5248910000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedDemocratic lawmakers asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Apple and Google over their personal data collection practices and whether they could be used to target women seeking abortions.
Four Democratic senators sent a letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan on Friday requesting that she investigate the two Big Tech companies over data collection. While the use of personal data has been a concern for lawmakers worldwide, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) said they believe it is a particular threat to those seeking abortions.
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“With the Supreme Court likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, individuals seeking abortions and other reproductive healthcare will become particularly vulnerable to privacy harms, including through the collection and sharing of their location data,” the letter argued. The letter appears to be released prior to the Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs ruling on Friday, which overturned the 1973 Roe decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
The four lawmakers pointed to claims that data brokers are selling, licensing, and sharing the location data of people who visit abortion clinics. They also claimed prosecutors in states where abortion becomes illegal may be able to acquire the user data of anyone who visits an abortion clinic and that private citizens will be “incentivized” by state bounty laws to “hunt down women who have obtained, or are seeking an abortion.”
The collection of abortion clinic-related data has been a historically recognized practice. At least two data collection firms have offered abortion clinic-related data to other clients, including the New York Times and Motherboard. At least one woman has been prosecuted based on abortion-related online searches.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Google has been scrutinized for its location data collection practices. Multiple state attorneys general sued Google in January 2022 for its profiting off of location data.
The FTC did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
