WASHINGTON — More than a dozen Senate Democrats are asking location data firms to supply information about any assortment or gross sales of cellphone data tied to visits to abortion clinics.
The letters, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and first reported by NBC News, requested responses from the tech firms SafeGraph Inc. and Placer.ai by May 31.
“Especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, your company’s sale of such data—to virtually anyone with a credit card—poses serious dangers for all women seeking access to abortion services,” the senators wrote to SafeGraph, with comparable wording within the letter to Placer.
Other Democrats who signed the letter embody Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ron Wyden of Oregon, together with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The letter is the most recent instance of congressional Democrats’ preparations for the seemingly reversal of Roe v. Wade. Senate Democrats did not move laws final week that may codify the 1973 landmark resolution over stiff Republican opposition.
Lawmakers try to deal with privateness issues round abortion as advocates warn that promoting location data might pose dangers to each sufferers and suppliers given the heightened tensions across the abortion debate.
Tracking data has additionally allowed advertisers to focus on girls at clinics. In their letter, the senators cited know-how that helped a Boston firm ship anti-abortion adverts on to girls as they sat in clinic ready rooms in 2016.
With the prospect that extra states will additional limit abortion entry, Democrats are zeroing in on the position large tech is anticipated to play within the battle for reproductive rights.
“Democrats need to use every tool possible to defend Americans’ right to an abortion and protect women’s health,” Warren advised NBC News of the strain marketing campaign on data brokers. “These practices are deeply concerning and risk the safety of everyone seeking access to abortion care.”
SafeGraph and Placer have mentioned they’ve taken steps to cease entry to clinic data after a number of media stories highlighted its availability. SafeGraph mentioned on its web site that “in light of potential federal changes in family planning access, we’re removing Patterns data for locations classified as … ‘Family Planning Centers’ … to curtail any potential misuse of its data.”
Pacer.ai is reported to have eliminated customers’ skill to seek for visualized data associated to Planned Parenthood that confirmed approximations for the properties of those that visited clinics.
The firm didn’t reply to a request for remark.
