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 ›
Tag Archive for ‘Medical Privacy’
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 ›
More Needs to be Done to Strengthen Protection of Human Subjects in Scientific Experiments
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a sweeping update to the federal regulations that govern scientific experiments involving human subjects, whether it’s studying behavior, testing biological specimens, or analyzing DNA. While the proposed policy [.pdf]… Read More ›