Data Brokers Stop Selling Abortion Clinic Location Data Amid Privacy Concerns
SafeGraph and Placer.ai permanently halt the sale of location data for individuals visiting reproductive health clinics following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Senator Elizabeth Warren continues to push for formal federal legislation to protect health data from potential exploitation.
Two major data brokers, SafeGraph and Placer.ai, pledge to permanently stop selling location data of individuals who visit abortion clinics. This decision comes in response to mounting privacy concerns and a direct request from Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic lawmakers following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
SafeGraph removes all data related to abortion clinics and family planning centers from its Patterns dataset, making it impossible to access this information on its platform. Placer.ai makes a similar permanent commitment, disabling user access to data regarding reproductive health providers and other sensitive locations that raise comparable concerns.
Despite these corporate pledges, lawmakers emphasize that formal legislative protections remain necessary to prevent the exploitation of personal health data for potential prosecution. Senator Warren continues to advocate for her Health and Location Data Protection Act, which seeks to establish a federal ban on data brokers sharing sensitive health location information.