Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed a first-of-its-kind bill into law that creates new protections for reproductive data, responding to concerns that sensitive data collected and sold by tech companies could be used to aid prosecutions related to abortions after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
The “My Health, My Data Act” puts limits on search engines and health trackers ability to collect and sell customers’ data. It will also bar the use of “geofences,” virtual perimeters that sweep up data about cellphones around a physical location, to send unsolicited messages to people at health facilities.
