- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Mexico president rules out new 'war on drugs'
- Israeli defense minister postpones trip to Washington: Pentagon
- Europe skipper Donald in talks with Garcia over Ryder return
- Kenya MPs vote to impeach deputy president in historic move
- Former US coach Berhalter named Chicago Fire head coach
- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.29% | 24.641 | $ | |
RIO | -4.42% | 66.675 | $ | |
SCS | -1.33% | 12.78 | $ | |
GSK | -1.59% | 38.026 | $ | |
NGG | 0.61% | 65.88 | $ | |
BTI | 0.04% | 35.215 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.25% | 24.851 | $ | |
AZN | 0% | 76.87 | $ | |
RELX | 1.27% | 46.63 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.16 | $ | |
BCC | 0.56% | 142.06 | $ | |
VOD | -0.31% | 9.66 | $ | |
BCE | -0.03% | 33.52 | $ | |
BP | -3.5% | 32.02 | $ |
US abortion reversal spurs online data fears
Fearing a data dragnet weaponized against women seeking abortions and those helping them, privacy groups are warning that pregnancy-related information online might present a serious legal risk and demanding tech companies take action in the wake of America's revokation of abortion rights.
As states move to ban or restrict the procedure after the Supreme Court's landmark reversal, worries grew that social media posts or information on apps could be used by authorities to build cases.
For example, geolocation data or an internet search history might serve to incriminate women or those who help them in states that opt to ban abortion.
"This decision opens the door to law enforcement and private bounty hunters seeking vast amounts of private data," said Center for Democracy and Technology president Alexandra Reeve Givens.
"Tech companies must step up and play a crucial role in protecting women's digital privacy," she added.
Google, Facebook parent Meta and others track their users in order to sell ultra-targeted and personalized advertising space.
Though that information is anonymized, it remains accessible to authorities with a warrant.
The Supreme Court ruling on Friday gives all 50 states the freedom to ban the procedure, and at least eight have already done so.
Some laws, like one passed in Texas in September, encourage private citizens to launch lawsuits against women suspected of having abortions.
The people who help the women can also be targeted, including for example an Uber driver who took them to the clinic.
More than 40 US Democratic lawmakers in May warned Google of risks posed by its data practices and urged changes.
"Google's current practice of collecting and retaining extensive records of cell phone location data will allow it to become a tool for far-right extremists looking to crack down on people seeking reproductive health care," read a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.
- 'Unprecedented digital surveillance' -
Nonprofit digital rights group Fight For The Future echoed the legislators' plea in an online petition demanding that Google get rid of location data that could be "weaponized against abortion patients and doctors."
Google did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Apple and Meta did not reply to requests for comment, either.
Text message logs, email messages, and data from apps such as those used to track menstrual cycles can hold significant pregnancy-related data.
The company behind an app called Natural Cycles which lets women track fertility told AFP that it is working on letting users remain completely anonymous in light of the Supreme Court ruling.
"The goal is to make it so no one -- not even us at Natural Cycles -– can identify the user," said spokesperson Laura Hanafin.
People should tighten privacy settings on devices or platforms, turn off location-sensing features, and use messaging services that scramble exchanges with encryption to prevent snooping, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) advised.
"There are indeed things users can do to protect themselves, such as using private browser windows, reputable VPNs, and encrypted messaging," EFF Legal Director Corynne McSherry told AFP.
"But the burden should not rest entirely with the user."
Tech companies should allow anonymous access, quickly delete data, shun location tracking, encrypt messages by default and more, the EFF said.
"The difference between now and the last time that abortion was illegal in the United States is that we live in an era of unprecedented digital surveillance," EFF director of cybersecurity Eva Galperin said in a tweet.
"If tech companies don't want to have their data turned into a dragnet... they need to stop collecting that data now," she added.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from California, has put forward legislation that would require companies to collect only the health information strictly necessary to provide their service.
"We shouldn't leave it to individual people to have to figure out how to delete things, what apps they can be on and can't be on," she told AFP.
"It's up to us as a government to do our job and protect sensitive health data," she added.
F.Dubois--AMWN