|
A Big HIPAA Update, Meta’s Image Detection Failure, and Wyoming’s New TRAP Law
CfA's February 28th Newsletter
| |||||||||||||||
CfA Alerts State Attorneys General to HIPAA Announcement from National Anti-Abortion Organization
On Wednesday, CfA sent follow-up letters to attorneys general in six states, providing an important update to earlier complaints regarding the conduct of specific anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). Unlike real medical facilities, CPCs are largely unregulated and have no legal obligation to provide patients with accurate information about their health. In this case, CfA asked the attorneys general to investigate clinics that asserted that their clients’ personal health information (PHI) was protected under HIPAA.
For consumers, “HIPAA protections” or “HIPAA rights” can sound like shorthand for privacy. In truth, most CPCs are not governed by this law or other federal regulations that apply to real, licensed medical facilities. Last week, the anti-abortion organization Heartbeat International posted a webpage acknowledging that some CPCs may have improperly invoked HIPAA.
 |
CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “For years, Heartbeat didn’t appear overly concerned that some of its affiliates were actively lying to women about their data being protected by HIPAA. Apparently only now, after CfA has pointed out the potential legal ramifications of these lies, is the organization actively recommending CPCs tell the truth.”
CfA has now informed the state attorneys general of Heartbeat’s announcement, and urged them to investigate CPCs that continue to make potentially misleading claims about HIPAA.
Meta’s Conspicuous Double Standard on AI Image Detection
This week, TTP found several advertisements for illicit firearms that were approved to run on Meta platforms, despite the company’s policies against ads promoting “the sale or use of weapons, ammunition or explosives.” While Meta’s failure to stop weapons trafficking is nothing new, TTP decided to test the company’s public-facing AI tools by using them to analyze screenshots of the gun advertisements. Immediately, Meta’s AI Assistant identified the make and model of the pistol (Taurus G3) and determined that the screenshot contained advertisements “promoting the sale” of firearms.
The accuracy of this analysis is significant. Advertisements can contain images of guns without being used to sell them, but Meta’s AI Assistant was able to identify the purpose of the ads—something its internal ad approval systems are apparently unable to do.
 |
These results echo a report by the research firm AI Forensics, which found that Meta automatically deleted screenshots of approved, sexually explicit advertisements from Facebook and Instagram when they were uploaded as organic posts. As the researchers note, these findings suggest that Meta has the technology to automatically detect violative content and has chosen not to enforce those standards on paid advertisements.
These lapses have consequences. In 2024, TTP identified over 200 paid advertisements for weapons, weapon accessories, and ammunition that Meta approved to run on its platforms.
Texas abortion ban created ripple effects limiting Coloradans' careTexas abortion ban created ripple effects limiting Coloradans' care
This week, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed a bill placing new restrictions on abortion providers in the state, requiring them to register as ambulatory surgical centers. In practice, this would mean that the state’s last abortion clinic would have to renovate its facilities and jump through additional hoops to provide care. Described as targeted regulations of abortion providers, or TRAP laws, these statues are designed to make it as difficult and expensive as possible for clinics to serve their patients.
Currently, Wyoming residents seeking procedural abortions must either leave the state or travel to a clinic called Wellspring Health Access, located in the small city of Casper. Just a few blocks down the street is an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center (CPC), which advertises unproven and unsafe “abortion pill reversal” treatments on its website.
What We’re Reading
Texas abortion ban created ripple effects limiting Coloradans' care
SEC Halts Fraud Prosecution of Chinese Crypto Bro Whose Purchases Enriched Trump
How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy
Campaign for Accountability Updates is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Campaign for Accountability Updates that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments.
| ||||||||||
