District Health Privacy Bill Would Ban Geofencing, Give Deletion Right
The District of Columbia’s Health Committee will weigh a privacy bill on personal health data and restricting geofencing around health facilities, the D.C. Council said in a Thursday memo. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I) introduced the measure (B26-0525) with six Democratic co-sponsors earlier this week.
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“Every day, thousands of DC residents use apps, search engines, and devices to track their health, schedule medical appointments, and access critical care,” according to an introduction statement prefacing the bill. Companies may share that data with “hundreds of third parties for purposes beyond the app’s core functionality or disclosed third-party sharing,” all without the user’s consent, it added. “Even when health-related apps have privacy policies, they often do not fully disclose how personal health data is shared.”
The D.C. bill would ban geofencing around health services facilities. Also, it would require controllers to publish clear and accessible privacy policies that say what data is collected, how it’s used and with whom it’s shared. Third, it would require consent before personal health data is collected, processed or disclosed, while allowing individuals to withdraw that consent whenever they choose.
In addition, the health data privacy bill would provide a right to delete that would require companies to honor deletion requests within 183 days “and ensure that their partners do the same,” said the bill.
A controversial New York state health privacy bill is awaiting the governor’s signature (see 2512030041). It has drawn comparisons to Washington state’s My Health My Data Act. Earlier this year, California signed into law a reproductive health privacy bill that similarly restricted geofencing (see 2509290004).