Fourteen Senate Democrats sent letters Tuesday to two data brokers demanding information about data they have distributed related to abortion clinic visits, as the prospect that the Supreme Court could soon overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked new concerns about how patients could be used against them.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to pro-abortion rights demonstrators outside of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The senators sent letters to SafeGraph and Placer.ai after Vice reported that SafeGraph sold location data of people who visited Planned Parenthood clinics.
Lawmakers asked the companies to immediately account for their problematic practices and guarantee that they will eliminate them.
The lawmakers pointed out that the data could be used to find and punish people who get abortions and that anti-abortion organizations are already using it to send targeted ads to people.
Lawmakers warn the use of such data is almost certain to escalate, given that many states are set to outlaw abortion entirely.
Lawmakers argue that the companies' responses to the concerns miss the mark after SafeGraph and Pacer.ai removed data relating to the concerns.
SafeGraph has not yet responded to a request for comment, and Pacer.ai directed Forbes to an earlier statement saying that the company removed all of the locations from its maps as part of its policy.
Lawmakers wrote that the sale of data by SafeGraph and Placer.ai risked the safety and security of women everywhere.
Both SafeGraph and Pacer.ai deny that their data has been used for malicious purposes, and in response to the Vice report, SafeGraph said the data the outlet had flagged was also used.
The lawmakers gave SafeGraph and Pacer.ai a May 31 deadline to answer more questions about its practices, including the scope of how much data the companies gathered, who has used that data and more details about how it is being removed from their platforms.
As the Supreme Court prepares to rule in the coming weeks in a case on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban and whether states can restrict the procedure, the likelihood that those seeking abortions could be punished for doing so has gone up. According to a leaked draft opinion, the court is likely to overturn its precedent and allow states to ban abortion. The official opinion will likely be released in June. The Guttmacher Institute projects that 26 states will ban abortion if the law is changed. Though abortion bans have not been criminalized, abortion rights advocates fear they will be, as well as outlawing travel to other states to get an abortion.
Data Broker is selling location data of people who visit abortion clinics.
The location data firm provides heat maps of where abortion clinic visitors live.
Personal data could be used to enforce anti-abortion laws.
How to protect your digital privacy.
SafeGraph stopped selling information on abortion providers.
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