Apps can be weaponized to criminalize those seeking abortion care. Under Trump, it could get worse

For those seeking access to reproductive care, one's digital footprint could be dangerous. As previous cases have shown, digital communications can become evidence used in prosecutions against people seeking abortions. For example, when Meta turned over chats between a mother and daughter, or when a man used text messages to file a wrongful death lawsuit against three women he alleged helped his ex-wife terminate a pregnancy, reproductive rights advocates have been ringing alarm bells about digital abortion surveillance for years.

But now, in a second Trump term post-Roe, the stakes are higher. This week, the Center for American Progress released a report detailing ways in which social media apps and consumer data could be weaponized to criminalize people seeking, providing and supporting abortion care. Researchers are calling on the public and policymakers to take action to protect private reproductive health information online.

“Many authors of and contributors to Project 2025, the far right’s authoritarian playbook for the presidential administration, are being proposed as potential candidates for positions in the Trump administration — a clear sign of an orchestrated effort to criminalize abortion care and surveil people pursuing reproductive health care,” the report states. “As part of those efforts, major tech companies could be weaponized as conduits to track and prosecute pregnant people seeking abortion care and their providers.”

In the report, the researchers raise concerns about the limitations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While it establishes federal standards to protect the privacy and security of individuals’ health information, it doesn’t cover apps that track users’ fitness goals, menstruation and mental health. It could also not protect an app where a patient is messaging a healthcare provider. 

“This also means that sensitive health information provided to these apps by individuals is potentially vulnerable to unauthorized access and misuse, not only by the app itself but also by third parties such as data brokers, advertisers or even law enforcement,” the report states. 

Researchers also bring attention to big tech’s business model and how it “facilitates mass surveillance of users seeking reproductive health care.” For example, people are frequently forced to consent to companies having permission to collecting and use their data, or they’re denied access to the platform. Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade with the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, the reproductive care landscape lacks federal abortion protections, putting patients' lives at stake.

“The collection of sensitive health data exposes users to the risk of significant privacy invasion and criminalization,” the researchers warn.

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There is also the concern that without federal privacy protections, the federal government can purchase data on individuals from so-called “data brokers” — companies like Google, Meta and TikTok that scoop up and sell the data we generate online. “Federal agencies exploiting the data broker loophole are then able to purchase this sensitive information without a warrant and may use it as a surveillance tool,” the report warns. 

Obtaining peoples’ search histories and location tracking on apps is also possible. Researchers brought up the case of Latice Fisher, a woman in Mississippi, who was charged with second-degree murder after she experienced a stillbirth at home — before Roe was overturned. 

“Police searched her phone and found she had previously searched for medication abortion,” the researchers stated. “Though the case was later dismissed, it shows how private search data can be weaponized to suggest intent to terminate a pregnancy and subject women to criminalization.”

Statewide shield laws, which say that courts and agencies won't cooperate if a state with an abortion ban tries to prosecute people traveling, will become increasingly important over the next four years. 

“These laws help prevent the use of digital surveillance to prosecute people who travel to access care and health care professionals who provide it,” the report emphasized. “These protections are particularly important in preventing the misuse of sensitive data — such as search histories, location tracking, or data from period-tracking and women’s health-related apps — that could otherwise be weaponized to prosecute individuals for accessing care across state lines.”