U.S. women want to remove the menstrual tracking app in fear that authorities could use their data to find out if someone is planning an abortion or if they have an abortion. We sought.
Millions of American women have lost their legal rights to abortion after the US Supreme Court overturned a groundbreaking ruling that protected women for almost 50 years.
The Roe v. Wade case (1973), which provided constitutional rights to abortion up to fetal viability, was overturned last Friday (NZT).
Josie Lepe / AP
Mitzi Ribas on the left is hugging his daughter Maya Iribarren while protesting the right to abortion at the San Francisco City Hall, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade case. Wade.
According to the New York Times, abortion is currently banned in at least eight states, and abortion is pending in several more states. About half of the states are expected to allow full abortion bans or other restrictions on procedures.
read more:
* “Sucker Punch”: Roe’s ruling fears that some U.S. women are retreating to their hard-earned rights
* Watch live: Christopher Luxon stands on the front lines as the Roe v. Wade incident reaches the Kuomintang
* Lord appears in US Supreme Court during Glastonbury Festival performance
* Green Day lead singer states that he will waive his citizenship over the abortion ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.
* American Democracy: What exactly is the poster child?
* Grant Robertson accuses national leader Christopher L’accent of abortion stance
* Roe v. Wade shows a complex relationship between the Supreme Court and Americans
In a now viral Twitter post, US writer Jessica Khoury warned her followers, “Please remove the menstrual tracking app today.”
The six-word tweet seems to be 355,000 times, and many have stepped into the comments section to express their fears.
Women tell the menstrual tracking app the start and end dates of their period so they can predict when their next period will be, when they are most likely to get pregnant, if they are late, or if they have completely missed their period. increase.
There has always been legitimate concern that the app will pass this data to big tech companies in order to serve more targeted ads.
However, in the post-Roe v. Wade world, there is a risk that the app may be forced to pass this information on to law enforcement authorities.
“Friends: This is not a delusion. The state already has access to the app’s data. If you travel when you miss your period, you will be prosecuted for an abortion. Remove the app now,” a Twitter user said. Is writing. Moulton.
A European app called Clue, which has about 12 million users, immediately issued a reassuring statement. The Berlin-based app states that European data privacy laws will protect users in the United States.
Another period tracker called Stardust issued a similar statement. “In the light of recent news about the Roe v. Wade case, we want to clarify your commitment to you. We are a women-owned app based on freedom of choice and the belief of freedom. Choice.” Privacy. “They wrote.
“We do not sell data. We have never sold data. We do not sell data.
“We have encrypted your information so that governments and businesses do not have access to you and your own data. It will stay this way forever.”
Eric Gay / AP
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade case, demonstrators gather in federal court. Wade, June 24, 2022, Austin, Texas.
Meanwhile, the US-run app Flo has promised to launch a new “anonymous mode” that removes a user’s personal ID from their account.
On June 24, Flo tweeted that he would not sell his personal data.
However, the app was previously accused of selling data to Facebook by 43 million users.
“If your app hasn’t made a statement, or hasn’t made a statement yet, consider switching through social media (especially if you’re based in the United States),” wrote a Twitter user. ..
Another warned that deleting the app would not automatically delete the data. You need to request this.
Technology policy researchers seem to believe that the US government is unlikely to request data from tracking apps, but that possibility cannot be ruled out.
Eva Galperin, Cyber Security Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, states that users’ contact lists, friends lists, messages, locations, searches, health information, and metadata need to be protected by all technology companies, not just trackers during these periods. I tweeted that there is.
“The difference between now and last time abortion was illegal in the United States is that we live in an era of unprecedented digital surveillance,” she said.
Evan Greer, a privacy expert at Fight for the Future, a digital advocacy group, warned that digital tracing could be used to involve women.
“Apps that collect sensitive information about your health and body need to be investigated in more detail,” Glia told NPR. Even if you’re playing a game like Candy Crush
According to Greer and other experts, the safest way to track your period is to use a pen and paper.