The technological landscape of the 2020s is a far cry from the 1970s, when Roe v Wade concluded and shaped women's reproductive rights in the US for a generation. Its overturning highlights old yet pervasive fears about data privacy rights in the US, and welcomes into the mainstream concerns that the EU/UK GDPR regime has been grappling with about US law enforcement's access to personal data. 

Whilst these concerns aren't new, now that 50% of the population in some US states conceivably fear potential criminalisation through evidence obtained via period tracking apps, google searches or social media posts, technology providers ("Big Tech" and small) are coming under increasing pressure for answers to these security concerns. 

Never has there been so much personal data accessible so easily about so many. With this decision raising the public profile of such data protection issues, we may see this as a catalyst for change in consumer habits when it comes to what is willingly shared, how and with whom. 

Protection of health data

Some privacy commentators suggest that health data about US citizens stored outside of the US, in countries subject to the EU/UK GDPR regime, may not be subject to the same level of risk. However with data being increasingly accessible in multiple jurisdictions, the questions around who can and cannot do what with that data is complex. 

Ultimately though, some of the best and more obvious ways to ensure the protection of data subjects is to minimise the data collected (particularly in respect of "special category"/sensitive personal data like health data), anonymise/pseudonymise wherever possible, making use of technical security measures (e.g. encryption), and retaining the data for the minimum time necessary. These are all requirements under the EU/UK GDPR anyway, but it might be that tech companies not currently subject to these regimes will implement these of their own accord - and of course many already are.

In the US, bills are already being submitted to ban the selling of US citizens' location and health data, and we wait to see how the overturning of Roe v Wade might impact the US's privacy landscape.