Reproductive Equity Now Applauds Legislation to Protect Patients’ and Providers’ Health Data, Digital Privacy
Bill includes a provision to ban the sale of cellphone location information, a Repro Equity Now priority
BOSTON, MA (May 6, 2024) – Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder issued the following statement today after the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity released a bill that will help protect abortion patients’ and providers’ digital privacy and health data. The Massachusetts Data Privacy Act includes provisions from the Reproductive Equity Now-backed Location Shield Act, legislation to ban the sale, lease, or trade of Massachusetts cellphone location data.
Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now:
“In a post-Roe world, protecting our digital privacy is essential to securing reproductive equity. Our digital footprint reveals some of the most personal details of our life, including where we work, live, seek medical care, and more. When receiving and providing abortion care, the last thing patients and providers need to worry about is the cellphone in their pocket, allowing someone hundreds of miles away to track their every move. And we know this scenario is not a hypothetical.
“We are so grateful to Committee Chairs Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Senator Michael Moore for taking this threat seriously and putting forward bold legislation to protect the privacy and security of abortion providers and seekers in our Commonwealth. By passing this bill, Massachusetts can protect health data and location information before they are used to criminalize people seeking reproductive health care in our state. We applaud the Committee for taking these proactive steps, and we look forward to working with the legislature to pass this bill to protect Bay Staters’ health, safety, and privacy.”
The Massachusetts Data Privacy Act would:
Ban the sale of cellphone location data in Massachusetts, by incorporating provisions known as the Location Shield Act;
Protect sensitive data that is currently collected by apps and websites about an individual’s reproductive health, use or purchase of contraceptives, and birth control;
Further protect data that reveals calendar information, including health care appointments in an online calendar;
Further protect data that reveals an individual’s online activities across third-party websites or online services, including online searches related to health care; and
Protect people from discrimination based on information revealed by their personal data, such as whether a person is pregnant.
This legislation comes after a recent report from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden’s office revealed that a data broker company allegedly tracked people’s visits to nearly 600 Planned Parenthood locations across 48 states, including Massachusetts, and provided that data to inform one of the nation’s largest anti-abortion ad campaigns. Data brokers have also used location information to create heat maps of where people visiting Planned Parenthood clinics came from, how long they stayed at the clinic, and where they went afterwards, putting patients at serious risk of litigation, harassment, and harm in a post-Roe world.
In June, Reproductive Equity Now, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of MA launched “Your Location: It’s None of Their Business,” a campaign calling on lawmakers to ban the sale of cellphone location data. The campaign is supported by over 40 organizations, including AFL-CIO, Anti-Defamation League New England, Jane Doe Inc., TransHealth, and more. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has also joined the call to ban the sale of cellphone location data in Massachusetts.
###
