Survey Finds Reproductive Apps Lack Clear Law Enforcement Policies

Reproductive Apps Mozilla Foundation reproductive health Reproductive Health Apps

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Aug 18, 06:51 am

Photo: (Photo : DAVE KAUP/AFP via Getty Images)

A new study has found that most apps devoted to reproductive health have done little to prepare for what to do if law enforcement looks for user information.

The nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, which also owns the Firefox browser, conducted the survey. The nonprofit, which advocates for a healthy internet, found that only one of 25 reproductive apps that track users' periods, their fitness, or their pregnancies have clearly written policies that explain the specific scenarios in which they would turn over user data.

According to privacy experts, while the types of data such reproductive apps hold typically have not been used in abortion prosecutions, these companies should still have clear policies before law enforcement asks for the data.

Pregnancy data is a hot-button issue in the U.S.

Pregnancy data has suddenly become a hot-button issue in the United States in the wake of the Supreme Court's controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

One of the apps that Mozilla surveyed was Ovia, a general reproductive health service. The company boasts a comprehensive privacy policy that details how it would respond if law enforcement gets a warrant for its clients' user data.

Jen Caltrider, who led the Mozilla study, told NBC News that the other 24 apps would either not clarify their policies or relied on vague assurances. She asked that when a company says they might share one's personal information if there is a chance of harm to the user or others, does a fetus count in that discussion? Caltrider has no idea, saying that it gets very gray.

Right now, it can be confusing what exactly can constitute a criminal abortion in many states. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many reproductive rights advocates have called for people to delete their period-tracking apps for fear that they could be used against the users.

Detective serves Facebook with warrant in Nebraska abortion case

Prosecutors have relied on unencrypted conversations to prove that suspects had conveyed to others that they had sought out and obtained abortions. For instance, in a recent criminal abortion case in Nebraska, which was launched before the Supreme Court's decision and is still ongoing, prosecutors managed to acquire unencrypted messages from Facebook in which a mother is alleged to have messaged her then-underage daughter instructions on how to take pills for a medical abortion.

In a sworn affidavit that was used as evidence, the detective who investigated the aforementioned case also said that he was able to obtain proof that the daughter had previously been pregnant. However, he did not clarify how he confirmed that.

The detective served the social media platform Facebook with a warrant, and like almost all tech companies, it turned over the information that it stores about users if it is legally compelled to.

However, some companies don't even require a warrant before handing over their user data to cops. Amazon, for example, has a policy of turning over to police Ring camera video in emergency situations that involve imminent danger and when cops deem there is insufficient time to obtain a court order.