In the wake of SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade, tech companies give “no comment” in response to questions about users' data that can be used in prosecutions

Tech companies have created employee reimbursement programs, but they have been silent on whether they'll protect users' data …

Protocol 2022-06-27 Brian Kahn

Context & Ripple Effects

Before the ruling, coverage had identified location and search records as potential evidence in abortion-related cases, including the risk that location and search data could be used in prosecutions. Afterward, Apple, Meta, Google and other companies focused their public response on employee support policies rather than user-data handling.

The silence matters because earlier Texas coverage had already put subpoenas for user data and liability around clinic-related services on the industry’s agenda. The gap between workforce benefits and data-protection commitments is now the operational issue.

First-order effects

Tech companies’ employee reimbursement programs address staff access to services, while their position on responding to requests for users’ pregnancy-related data remains publicly undefined.
Users whose search, location, or other records are held by those companies receive no stated assurance that the companies will resist data demands tied to abortion prosecutions.

Second-order effects

Apple, Meta, Google, and peers face pressure to turn broad privacy and retention practices into explicit policies for sensitive reproductive-health-related data.
Companies operating services that generate location, search, or clinic-access records must weigh the legal exposure flagged in Texas-related subpoena and service-liability concerns alongside user privacy expectations.

Third-order effects

If state-level enforcement increasingly relies on platform-held records, privacy competition will shift from consent language toward how long firms retain sensitive data and how they handle government demands.
The episode points to a more fragmented compliance environment, in which national consumer platforms must reconcile employee policies and data practices with divergent state legal regimes.

The trend: Post-Roe technology policy is moving from employee-benefit announcements toward scrutiny of the data-retention and disclosure rules governing sensitive user records.

Discussion

@paul_griffiths Paul Griffiths on x
Top 🇺🇸 Midas List Investors Tweets on Roe v. Wade being overturned a (very, very empty)🧵
@abortion_finder @abortion_finder on x
⚠️INSTAGRAM HAS TAKEN DOWN OUR PAGE.⚠️ Please help us continue to spread the word that https://abortionfinder.org/ is HERE to help folks access abortion care, and we aren't going ANYWHERE. https://twitter.com/...
@tonyajoriley Tonya Riley on x
Multiple tech companies are saying they'll pay for employees to travel for abortions. (Employees who probably already have resources to do so unlike many Americans.) I've heard zero about how these companies intend to protect user data from being used to criminalize abortion.
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Of course most companies in their privacy policies say they comply with legal requests for data. But it's not binary: Google pushed back in court on the breadth of some location data warrants. But no acknowledgement of whether tech firms will try that here https://www.vice.com/..…
@prestonjbyrne Preston Byrne on x
They don't have a choice unless they're prepared to go to court to quash the request, which they rarely do. They'll comply. https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
New: we asked tech companies if they would provide data to police about users + abortions Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Google, Amazon, Discord, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Binance, Kraken, CashApp, Coinbase, Venmo, Uber and Lyft. None answered https://www.vice.com/...
@dmehro Dhruv Mehrotra on x
...Facebook continues to store sensitive scheduling information from pregnancy centers. They could easily fix this... [Screenshot of off-Facebook activity from 1stchoice.org]
@pt Parker on x
The idea we can keep a determined government from using the power of the law to track citizens is horribly naive. It's not your browsing history, it's your email, texts, payments data, GPS, etc. All effort should be going into talking away that legal power/fixing laws. https://tw…
@neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x
they have to comply with law enforcement requests. they are going to turn over the data. financial intermediaries too https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@evacide Eva on x
Search data matters. Location data matters. Health data matters. Contact lists and friend lists matter. The contents of messages matter and so does the meta-data. If you work in tech, this is what you should be protecting right now.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Articles like these that blame tech companies instead of politicians for bad laws are telling because they offer no solutions. Should Google not store your emails or Uber your ride history because they MIGHT be related to an abortion? If not, then what? https://www.protocol.com/.…
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
The U.S. government caring about online privacy at the Federal level is way overdue. But Democrats' failure to codify Roe vs Wade with laws is the real issue not period tracking apps on iOS.
@jmbooyah Johana Bhuiyan on x
Tech companies & data brokers collect & store SO much user data for long periods of time which makes them huge targets for subpoenas & law enforcement requests. Tech companies can try to come up with ways to stall or fight these requests but sometimes they literally can't say no.
@pernillet Pernille Tranberg on x
Tech companies are silent about their users' data re abortion rights. That's a tacit acknowledgment that data is so valuable, that they would rather keep on collecting it, even if people are thrown in jail, fined or killed https://www.protocol.com/...
@jmbooyah Johana Bhuiyan on x
The main way to not put people's user data at risk of being handed over to law enforcement is to not collect it or to limit how much you collect and how long you store it for in the first place.
@kathmschmidt Kathleen Schmidt on x
Meta's new privacy policy goes into effect 7/26. Here's a screenshot of what data they collect. This is why women in states where abortion is banned SHOULD NOT communicate via Messenger or Instagram or post in groups. [Screenshots of Meta's updated privacy policy]
@tinkersec @tinkersec on x
Corporations will hand your info over to law enforcement in a heartbeat. Corporations don't give one single fuck about your rights beyond what they can use for marketing. Your google searches. Your GPS directions. Your period trackers. They'll *automate* turning it over. https://…
@mcmisoprostol @mcmisoprostol on x
.@Abortion_Finder is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to find information about your closest LEGAL abortion provider. It is a tool that uses data from @ANSIRH at UCSF to ensure folks have access to up-to-date information. Today @instagram removed their account. https://t…
@clarabellum Clara B on x
womens bodies are now “regulated goods” according to @Meta so that's fun https://twitter.com/...
@jmbooyah Johana Bhuiyan on x
These data practices have always been potentially harmful to vulnerable groups but there's typically not been a ton of incentive for (or pressure on) tech companies to stop collecting or storing your data — it's the new oil, they need it to make money.
@ashleygjovik @ashleygjovik on x
Do not celebrate mega corporations refunding employee's out of state abortion expenses Most of those corporate jackwagons funded this catastrophe ✅ Boycott corporations who don't meaningfully fight for human rights (with public receipts)
@hypervisible @hypervisible on x
Tech companies are all in a rush to monetize you after you are dead too, so headline is definitely not hyperbole.
@marciabelsky Marcia Belsky on x
.@instagram giving into the “illegality” of abortion immediately rather than even attempting to take a stance is disappointing but not at all surprising. @facebook is very white, very tech bro male https://twitter.com/...
@kurtopsahl Kurt Opsahl on x
Now more than ever for user data. Keep it secret, keep it safe. Or better yet, don't keep it at all. https://twitter.com/...
@kobotic Dr Kobi Leins on x
'That's a tacit acknowledgment that data is so valuable, tech companies would rather keep on collecting it, even if people are thrown in jail, fined or killed.' https://www.protocol.com/...
@pt Parker on x
The privacy industrial complex will be out in force in the coming months saying only they, with the same policies they were pushing last week and last year, can save you. They can't save you.
@hypervisible @hypervisible on x
["Your data is worth more than your life to tech companies"] Brutal, yet quite accurate, headline.
@abortion_finder @abortion_finder on x
WE ARE BACK ON INSTAGRAM! 👏 Thank you to everyone who helped call attention to the situation and uplift https://abortionfinder.org/ as a trustworthy resource for finding access to abortion care. ❤️ https://twitter.com/...
@inafried Ina Fried on x
Re-upping this column I wrote in May, after the draft Dobbs opinion leaked. Tech companies still aren't saying what they will do when the inevitable data requests come from prosecutors... https://www.axios.com/...
@lizziefin Elizabeth H Finley on x
.@meta has always been hostile to reproductive health - regardless of what they might offer employees now. When I ran a birth control access project, they rejected all ads because “parents might not approve of people having info” about services they had the legal right to access.…
@julibriskman @julibriskman on x
Abortion still is legal in many states. Why would @instagram take down the page!?!? This is censorship in an effort to control women and it needs to stop! If you or someone you know needs to find reproductive healthcare, visit: https://abortionfinder.org/ https://twitter.com/...
@jmbooyah Johana Bhuiyan on x
While it's sad that it took this, now that a broader group of people feel vulnerable for the first time, we may see a groundswell of public pressure on these companies to change the way they manage user data. (Obv unclear if it'll be enough to force the companies to change much)
@_zeets Zito on x
“In essence, companies' silence says they think the data collection and sale process is so opaque, users won't raise a fuss about it. And data itself is more valuable to the companies than helping people have access to life-saving health care.” https://www.protocol.com/...
@missig_geek Miss IG Geek on x
Not just tech companies either - all the downstream companies that rely on the cheap convenience of Big DataTech need to have a serious think about their role in putting US women at deadly risk https://twitter.com/...
@markruffalo Mark Ruffalo on x
Forget Big Brother. Big Patriarch is watching. “These companies need to think very long and hard about the ways in which their platforms will be weaponized to criminalize people looking to access abortion healthcare...and ensure that it doesn't happen.” https://www.theguardian.co…
@brettstoelker @brettstoelker on x
I know a lot of women who use period tracking apps are very concerned about their privacy with #RoeVWadeOverturned. Being the great majority use an iPhone, the Health app has an encrypted/offline tracker.⤵️ Sources: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://support.apple.com/..…
@ccdhate @ccdhate on x
“These companies need to think very long and hard about the ways in which their platforms will be weaponized to criminalize people looking to access abortion healthcare, and they need to ensure that it doesn't happen” Our CEO @Imi_Ahmed. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@fortunemagazine @fortunemagazine on x
14.7% of employers plan to make a statement about their stance on abortion following the Supreme Court decision, according to a new survey. https://fortune.com/...
@amy_siskind Amy Siskind on x
Support companies that support women's rights: Patagonia will pay to bail out employees arrested in abortion protests. https://www.axios.com/...
@taniel @taniel on x
“Unlike... prior to Roe, law enforcement now has more powerful ways to surveil and build their cases against pregnant people and abortion providers—by monitoring period tracking apps, social media posts, online message boards, and text messages.” https://theappeal.org/...
@lydiadepillis Lydia DePillis on x
This is what it actually means to criminalize abortion. I am not sure America is prepared for the level of invasive policing that women are about to endure. https://www.newyorker.com/... via @jiatolentino https://twitter.com/...
@anildash @anildash on x
One key failure of employer-backed abortion care travel that can't be emphasized enough: it requires the worker to make a disclosure that puts them in jeopardy. Often, those seeking care can't even disclose to a partner or family — they absolutely can't trust their manager or HR.
@brettstoelker Brett Stoelker on x
That being said, it's recommended to look at the privacy policy (the little pop up any time you install and use an app for the first time where you have to “Agree") and see how/where/what information is stored and used via 3rd party. Many can sell your information for profit.⤵️
@jkbibliophile Jessica Khoury on x
Delete your period tracking apps today.
@posmarketer Jake Sanders on x
Wonder if the digital advertising industry, that established the precedent for all this tracking & surveillance, will do anything to address this or prevent this? Shackled the bottom lines to our ankles and threw our society overboard for 0.014% CTR. Way to go. Enjoy the ROI. 🤬 h…
@privacydigest @privacydigest on x
With Roe overturned, period-tracking apps raise new worries Period-tracking apps have been criticized for bad privacy practices. Here's how to track your cycle without sharing data with companies, employers, insurers or the government. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@heatherkelly Heather Kelly on x
5. Avoid sharing any info about your reproductive health on apps and forms. This means not sharing it w period tracking apps, doctor's office check-in software, forms that include an “are you pregnant” question without a good reason. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@washingtonpost @washingtonpost on x
Everything you do online is already tracked. That information is about to become even more sensitive if you're seeking an abortion in the U.S. Here are the basic steps anyone can take to protect personal information when weighing an abortion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@coleytangerina Coley on x
This article is genuinely very good, but in the darkest timeline - which I do think we're in - Google and Apple still aren't safe if push comes to shove. An (only) local-drive-saved spreadsheet is perhaps the safest digital choice, but paper is best. https://www.washingtonpost.co…
@neurojojo @neurojojo on x
Why is this easier for them than keeping sexual assault out of the Metaverse? https://www.cnet.com/...
@eviljordan Jordan Holberg on x
Frequent reminder this company is TRASH, run by a TRASH-MAN and if you work there something is very wrong with you (your moral compass is TRASH). Stop using their services (giphy and whatsapp included). https://twitter.com/...
@missig_geek Miss IG Geek on x
In fairness; this architecture is the industry standard employed by app devs whose priorities are working faster and cheaper. Most have never been taught about ethics or had their work challenged on its harm potential. Their crime is ignorance, not malice https://twitter.com/...
@szhang_ds @szhang_ds on x
@nicole_bonoff And here I thought that decision might have been my fault.
@masonmem Mason M on x
@antonwahlman @RMac18 Maybe people wouldn't talk about healthcare at work if it wasn't tied to their employment in America~
@neurojojo @neurojojo on x
Another reminder that the myth of big tech being run by a liberal cabal has always been effective right wing propaganda.
@thelincoln Lincoln Michel on x
They're fine platforming neo nazis in the name of “free speech” but your not allowed to even talk about abortion https://twitter.com/...
@jamespmcleod James McLeod on x
Mark Zuckerberg gave a major speech at Georgetown University all about free expression ... like ... less than three years ago. https://twitter.com/...
@goldengateblond @goldengateblond on x
it's so nice when companies stay on brand https://www.nytimes.com/...
@josenthal Joe Rosenthal on x
No surprise from the company that until earlier this year still had Peter Thiel as a board member. Don't talk about the Christian nationalism subsuming the country and destroying rights because it might make some regressive Meta employees uncomfortable. https://twitter.com/...
@antonwahlman Anton Wahlman on x
@RMac18 Employees should not be gossiping on work time or on work computers. Why hasn't such time waste always been banned?
@cheekbyname Alex Cheek on x
@RMac18 “If you are neutral in situations of injustice...”
@antoniocasilli Casilli on x
Are we supposed to believe that Facebook and Instagram are about users' freedom of expression, when they infringe basic rights of their workers, like to engage in free speech and to participate in debates—which are tenants of the freedom of association? https://www.nytimes.com/..…
@theferocity Saeed Jones on x
Shout out to the news executives perfectly aligned with Mark Zuckerborg. https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon @blackamazon on x
FREE SPEECH! but we don't need to talk about marginalized rights in tech https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
It's been almost four years since Facebook VP Joel Kaplan sat behind his friend Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing. Interesting to draw a line from that moment to where Facebook/Meta is now on employees expressing political views. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@raduray @raduray on x
@RMac18 Just goes to show that Facebook can moderate content.
@tamigraph Tamara Kneese on x
Related: companies say they will help employees receive abortion care but simultaneously ban them from talking about Roe in the name of decorum https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
@donmoyn Don Moynihan on x
We are not going back: this is true but in a way opposite to how many who say it intend. We are entering an unprecedented era of invasive state surveillance of pregnant women. https://www.newyorker.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@elastigirlvotes @elastigirlvotes on x
Before you delete those tracking apps, make sure you corrupt the data. Deleting might be a pain. So get rid of some periods. Add periods. Make it look like peri menopause hell. https://twitter.com/...
@baxterkb Kathy Baxter on x
I'm proud that not only will @Salesforce pay to relocate employees, it will also pay for travel expenses for employees to get the healthcare services they need & have a RIGHT to. https://www.fastcompany.com/ ...
@caerage JaneDoeMD on x
Everyone should read this @NewYorker piece. It is longish and detailed. We are not going back to a pre-Roe world. It is much worse than that. https://www.newyorker.com/...
@karissabe Karissa Bell on x
As people take to social media to urge people using period tracking apps to delete them, the most popular period tracking app, Flo, says it's developing an “anonymous mode” but offered no details https://www.engadget.com/...
@hypervisible @hypervisible on x
“The app came under fire in 2019 after The Wall Street Journal reported the app was sharing users' sensitive information, including details about their menstrual cycles and if they were trying to get pregnant, with Facebook, Google and other third-parties” https://www.engadget.co…
@datadrivenmd @datadrivenmd on x
Missing from much of the coverage on the topic is the fact that employer-based abortion assistance will not be offered to *all* employees within a company. Netflix, for instance, only offers the benefit to its full-time employees and their dependents https://www.cnn.com/... https…
@ericuman Eric Umansky on x
Wow, Facebook has *barred employees from talking about abortion* — because doing so has a “heightened risk of creating a hostile work environment.” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@epro Emil Protalinski on x
“discussing abortion openly at work has a heightened risk of creating a hostile work environment” discussing issues secretly creates a hostile environment https://twitter.com/...
@dellcam @dellcam on x
guess the real arbiter of truth is the soulless corp you meet along the way https://twitter.com/...
@rosalindzadams Rosalind Adams on x
this will go over well i'm sure. https://twitter.com/...
@nicole_bonoff Nicole Bonoff on x
What a trash decision. FB HR got played hard over the years by a bunch of trolls who then left the company. Hope employees start a private Twitter Community so they can have the open discussion they want and deserve. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@brookschambers Brooks on x
In a country where people are forced to rely on employers for health care, some employers won't let you talk about health care at work. Absolutely deranged. https://twitter.com/...
@rockshrimp @rockshrimp on x
I'm sure the Free Speech brigade will be outraged. https://twitter.com/...
@lars @lars on x
Good luck with that, @Meta. https://twitter.com/...
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
“Bring your whole self to work” is officially dead https://twitter.com/...
@techwontsaveus @techwontsaveus on x
“Meta told its workers on Friday not to openly discuss the Supreme Court's ruling eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion on wide-reaching communication channels inside the company.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
I thought they just needed to make sure the viewable content of the channels was split 50/50 so they didn't experience the wrath of Joel? https://twitter.com/...

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