10 State AGs Call on Apple to Bolster Reproductive Health Data Privacy in App Store

November 23, 2022 - A group of ten state attorneys general penned a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook urging the tech company to address gaps in reproductive health data privacy, particularly as it applies to third-party apps available in Apple’s App Store.

Considering the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, the state attorneys general addressed concerns about how reproductive health information could be used against consumers by law enforcement and others.

“This gap in Apple’s protections threatens the privacy and safety of App Store consumers, and runs directly counter to Apple’s publicly expressed commitment to protect user data,” the letter stated.

While Apple has “assure[d] consumers that the App store is an important key to securing their app data,” the attorneys general suggested the company “has not done enough” when it comes to protecting app data relating to reproductive health.

“Location history, search history, and adjacent health data (specifically, all information relating to the past, present, or future reproductive or sexual health of an individual) pose a significant risk to individuals seeking or providing abortions, birth control, or other reproductive health care,” the letter noted.

To combat these issues, the state attorneys general urged Apple to require app developers to take additional steps to accurately represent their privacy policies. For example, the attorneys general suggested that developers should exemplify that they delete data not essential for the use of the application, such as location data and search history.

“Deletion is the first line of defense to protect consumers who, often unknowingly, leave digital trails of their actions to obtain or provide reproductive healthcare,” the attorneys general reasoned.

Additionally, the letter made a case for developers to provide clear notices regarding their policies surrounding reproductive health data and how it may be shared with third parties. Developers should only share that data with third parties when required by a valid court order, the letter stated.

Apps that sync with health data stored on Apple devices should also employ the same security standards as Apple as it relates to that sensitive data.

“Failure to certify compliance with these measures should constitute grounds for removal from the App Store,” the letter continued.

“Consumers cannot trust Apple’s privacy promises if applications on the App Store are not required to take active measures to protect this sensitive health data. Provision of an app or service should not come at the cost of consumers losing control of their health data.”