KEY POINTS
  • The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has raised questions about whether and how tech companies should protect data of users seeking abortions.
  • Data privacy experts concerned about the court ruling's implications say there are ways that both tech companies and their users can try to better protect their information in a post-Roe era.
  • In the meantime, there are also steps consumers can take to minimize their data exposure.
SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Abortion rights protesters participate in nationwide demonstrations following the leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting the possibility of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, in New York City, U.S., May 14, 2022.

The Supreme Court's decision on Friday to roll back the right to receive an abortion raises new questions about whether and how tech companies should protect the information of users seeking reproductive health care.

Tech companies may have to contend with issues about user privacy related to such health care whether they want to or not. That could be the case if they are ordered by a court to hand over certain types of data, like location information of users at an abortion clinic, search histories or text messages.