Dear John,

Even before the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, police and anti-abortion extremists utilized surveillance techniques and user data to harass, investigate, prosecute, and punish pregnant people. Now, as conservative politicians and extremists look for new ways to criminalize abortion providers, helpers, and seekers, we know more people are concerned about the way our online data can be used against us. Here’s what you should know:

• How data brokers use your data: Data brokers are companies that collect data by scouring the internet or buying individual information from other companies. They can obtain data from ordinary apps on people’s phones, like weather apps, and then sell this sensitive information, including location data, utility bill data, private license plate data, and facial recognition search results, to any third party, even law enforcement.
• This affects us all: By purchasing this information without a warrant, cops can easily identify, locate, and track people (while bypassing the fundamental protections of the Fourth Amendment). Communities of color and low-income communities already experience over-policing, and this data abuse can further compound disproportionate harms on communities of color and low-income communities, including poverty, systemic racism, lack of digital data security, and lack of access to adequate health care.
• How this can happen: In a time of increased surveillance and criminalization of pregnancy, we are concerned that law enforcement agencies will purchase information from data brokers to specifically target people for their pregnancy outcomes. Some abortion bans, like SB 8 in Texas, encourage vigilantism by allowing civilians to file complaints against someone who provides abortion care or helps a pregnant person access it. These “abortion bounty hunters” could potentially have another tool to easily track people by purchasing data sets from data brokers.
• What we can do: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be asking for public input to ensure data brokers are not misusing certain kinds of sensitive data. The National Women’s Law Center will be leading the charge to ask the CFPB to consider the impact on abortion seekers, providers, and facilitators. We’ll especially need your help to send a comment to the CFPB when the collection period starts. But no matter when the CFPB acts, we recommend checking the various apps you use to ensure bad actors cannot access your information. If you think you might need legal representation related to abortion care, please visit the Abortion Defense Network.

Anti-abortion extremists and law enforcement should not be able to surveil and criminalize us for accessing health care. As we continue to respond to the reality of living without the constitutional right to an abortion, protecting our data is key to our safety.

In solidarity,

Sawyeh Esmaili
she/her/hers
Senior Counsel, Reproductive Rights and Health
National Women's Law Center