With Roe in doubt, some fear tech surveillance of pregnancy

With Roe in doubt, some fear tech surveillance of pregnancy

FILE - This Aug. 11, 2019, file photo an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. When U.S. law enforcement officials are fishing for information, they increasingly know where to go — in the vast digital ponds of personal data that Big Tech companies have created in their devices and online services that have hooked billions of people around the world. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Companies that collect data from the digital clues people leave online often know their most sensitive health information _ gleaned from web searches, health apps and location trackers. Privacy experts fear this digital trail could be used to surveil pregnancies if the U.S. Supreme Court allows abortions to be banned, as a leaked draft opinion suggests it will. Ford Foundation technology fellow Cynthia Conti-Cook says the data gives outsiders a peek into someone’s soul. It’s mostly used to target advertising, like baby products shown to pregnant women. But the data could become evidence in a criminal case, something that worries abortion supporters.

Photo: FILE – This Aug. 11, 2019, file photo an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)