Mad in America February 20, 2023
Data brokers are selling massive lists of psychiatric diagnoses, prescriptions, hospitalizations, and even lab results, all linked to identifiable contact information.
Millions of Americans are using health tracking apps, including for mental health issues like depression and anxiety. We’re used to our private medical information (in hospitals and doctors’ offices, for instance) being protected by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). But HIPAA wasn’t designed for the modern world, with its new technologies. Most apps—including health, mental health, and biometric tracking devices—don’t fall under HIPAA rules, meaning that these tech companies can sell your private health data to third parties, with or without your consent.
In a new report from Duke University’s Technology Policy Lab, researcher Joanne Kim...
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