Wednesday’s letter from the Senate Democrats to tech companies was sent by fourteen senators. It asked for answers to reports regarding the sale and collection of location data about people who visited abortion clinics.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D.Massachusetts), was the leader of the lawmakers who wrote letters to the two companies, expressing concerns over the data. Roe v. Wadefaces being overturned in the Supreme Court If Roeis taken down over halfMany states are likely to ban abortion through automatic trigger laws or new legislation.
“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,” read the letter addressed to SafeGraph, using “women” as shorthand for abortion seekers, who also include trans and nonbinary people.
The letter was signed in part by Democratic lawmakers including Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ed Markey(D-Massachusetts), and Cory Booker, (D-New Jersey).
This was earlier in the month Motherboard reportedSafeGraph, a data firm, is selling information about the location of people who have visited abortion centers such as Planned Parenthood. This includes their movements after the visit and how long they remain at the clinic. The publication also foundPlacer.ai provided data showing the approximate location of Planned Parenthood clinic visits. After reporters contacted the company, it removed the listing.
Anti-abortion groups have been harassing, attacking and murderingPatients, escorts, employees and aides at abortion clinics for many years. Clinics are under threat because abortion rights are under threat are preparedFor more vicious attacks, especially since far-right Republicans are seeking to Place bountiesPeople involved in reproductive care
Such hate groups have already usedLocation data to show anti-abortion messages on patients’ phones while they are in Planned Parenthood clinics. Other data, such as search engine historyPersonal information, such as Google accounts, can be used to help you obtain abortion pills. The data also provides access to information on a person’s finances and political views, and emails they send and receive. In a post-Roe world, even data from period tracker appsAnti-abortionists may be able to use their data to bring someone to justice who might have had an abortion.
The lawmakers stated that patients and providers are at greater risk if they have access to the data offered by SafeGraph or Placer.ai. “It is difficult to overstate the dangers of SafeGraph’s unsavory business practices,” they wrote.
SafeGraph has defended its sales of the data, saying that it’s “anonymized,” but the lawmakers said that that defense demonstrates a misunderstanding of the root of the problem.
“[A]s experts have repeatedly warned, it can be ‘trivially easy’ to link someone’s location data with their real-world identities, especially when datasets are limited to only ‘four or five’ devices in a location,” the lawmakers said. “SafeGraph’s sale of this data presents an ongoing threat to women who have sought abortions and who may seek them in the future.”
The letters’ signatories asked the companies to provide details about the type of data that it sells about abortion clinic visitors and to pledge to stop selling such data altogether. The letters are part Democrats’ attemptsProtect abortion rights and protect abortion seekers before the likely end Roe.
“Democrats need to use every tool possible to defend Americans’ right to an abortion and protect women’s health,” Warren said in a statement. “With an extremist Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe, I’m calling out data-broker companies for their disturbing practices of selling and transferring the personal information of women visiting abortion clinics, including their cell-phone location data.”
