In addition to the drastic restrictions it places on a woman’s reproductive and medical care rights, the new Texas abortion law, SB8, will have devastating effects on online speech. The law creates a cadre of bounty hunters who can use… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Medical Privacy’
Big Data Profits If We Deregulate HIPAA
This blog post was written by Kenny Gutierrez, EFF Bridge Fellow. Recently proposed modifications to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would invade your most personal and intimate health data. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which… Read More ›
Maryland and Montana Pass the Nation’s First Laws Restricting Law Enforcement Access to Genetic Genealogy Databases
Last week, Maryland and Montana passed laws requiring judicial authorization to search consumer DNA databases in criminal investigations. These are welcome and important restrictions on forensic genetic genealogy searching (FGGS)—a law enforcement technique that has become increasingly common and impacts… Read More ›
Vaccine Passports: A Stamp of Inequity
A COVID vaccine has been approved and vaccinations have begun. With them have come proposals of ways to prove you have been vaccinated, based on the presumption that vaccination renders a person immune and unable to spread the virus. The… Read More ›
EFF Files Comment Opposing the Department of Homeland Security's Massive Expansion of Biometric Surveillance
EFF, joined by several leading civil liberties and immigrant rights organizations, recently filed a comment calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw a proposed rule that would exponentially expand biometrics collection from both U.S. citizens and noncitizens… Read More ›
No to Expanded HHS Surveillance of COVID-19 Patients
The federal government plans to process more of our personal data, in the name of containing COVID-19, but without showing that this serious privacy intrusion would actually do anything to protect public health. EFF filed comments in opposition to these… Read More ›
Immunity Passports Are a Threat to Our Privacy and Information Security
With states beginning to ease shelter-in-place restrictions, the conversation on COVID-19 has turned to questions of when and how we can return to work, take kids to school, or plan air travel. Several countries and U.S. states, including the UK,… Read More ›
Telling Police Where People With COVID-19 Live Erodes Public Health
In some areas of the United States, local governments are sharing the names and addresses of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 with police and other first responders. This is intended to keep police, EMTs, and firefighters safe should… Read More ›
Verily's COVID-19 Screening Website Leaves Privacy Questions Unanswered
One week after Alphabet’s Verily launched its COVID-19 screening website, several unanswered questions remain about how exactly the project will collect, use, and retain people’s medical information. Verily, a healthcare data subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has until now… Read More ›
New EEOC Rules Allow Employers to Pay for Employees’ Health Information
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions for employee wellness programs give employers the power to reward or penalize their employees based on whether they complete health screenings and participate in fitness programs. While wellness programs are often welcomed, they put… Read More ›