This week marked the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated federal protections for abortion. The ruling has highlighted the importance of digital privacy in defending gender justice.
In response, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) published a series of resources assessing health privacy two years after Dobbs. CDT has contributed to new state laws and federal regulatory protections while leading a task force that includes tech companies, reproductive rights groups, and health and privacy experts nationwide.
A CDT issue brief reviewed state “shield laws” in all 19 states where they have been enacted over the past two years. Additionally, a CDT blog post outlines changes in the regulatory landscape for privacy issues since Dobbs and their impact on reproductive rights. An op-ed by CDT in Tech Policy Press discusses how online anonymity affects access to reproductive health information and care.
Earlier this spring, CDT hosted Melanie Fontes-Rainer from the Department of Health & Human Services’s Office of Civil Rights Division for a briefing on the new HIPAA Privacy Rule, which CDT supported alongside its allies.
Reproductive care providers have indicated that CDT's Shield Law Guide will assist them in making informed decisions about their obligations across different states.
On Tuesday, CDT announced a new multistakeholder working group addressing Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII), partnering with the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. This initiative responds to last month’s White House Call to Action to Combat Image-Based Sexual Abuse, urging collaboration among companies and stakeholders to tackle intimate image abuse's significant harms.
"When sexual images are shared without consent — or even threatened to be shared — the impacts can be profound; financially, psychologically and emotionally," stated a representative from CDT. The working group includes representatives from tech companies, trust and safety practitioners, gender-based violence experts, organizations representing impacted communities, and digital rights experts aiming to develop solutions for this challenging issue.
These efforts exemplify CDT’s role in leveraging expertise and commitment to civil rights by facilitating productive conversations among diverse stakeholders.
