For how we live.
A dormant breach-notification rule became an enforcement tool in 2023, when the FTC fined GoodRx and BetterHelp for sharing users' health data with ad platforms. A 2024 rule change locked apps into its reach.
23andMe's cleared BRCA report reads 3 of more than 1,000 mutations, so a negative result is not the all-clear it looks like — and the firm's bankruptcy has put customers' genetic data in play.
A review of 23 women's health apps found 87% shared user data with outside firms. The main US rule that covers them orders breach disclosure — it does not stop the sharing.
An audit of 17 manufacturers' privacy policies found transparency the weakest area, with wide variation between brands. The data these devices generate largely falls outside HIPAA and GDPR's clinical protections.
Reported health-data breaches rose 100% from 2018 to 2023 and the people affected by them 950%. A federal proposal would drop the rule's 'addressable' loophole and require encryption, multi-factor login and more.