FTC Warns Health Apps To Notify Consumers Impacted by Data Breaches (thehill.com) 7
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 Wednesday that a decade-old rule on health data breaches applies to apps that handle sensitive health information, warning these companies to comply. From a report: The new policy statement agreed to by the FTC was intended to clarify the agency's 2009 Health Breach Notification Rule, which requires vendors handling health records to notify consumers if the data is accessed through a breach or other means without the individual's authorization. The new policy states that the rule applies to health apps, such as those tracking fitness or menstrual cycles, which have been developed over the past decade.
"As many Americans turn to apps and other technologies to track diseases, diagnoses, treatment, medications, fitness, fertility, sleep, mental health, diet, and other vital areas, this Rule is more important than ever," the policy statement agreed to Wednesday reads. "Firms offering these services should take appropriate care to secure and protect consumer data." The FTC intends to enforce the new policy, with those in violation facing a financial penalty of over $43,000 per day.
"As many Americans turn to apps and other technologies to track diseases, diagnoses, treatment, medications, fitness, fertility, sleep, mental health, diet, and other vital areas, this Rule is more important than ever," the policy statement agreed to Wednesday reads. "Firms offering these services should take appropriate care to secure and protect consumer data." The FTC intends to enforce the new policy, with those in violation facing a financial penalty of over $43,000 per day.
Degrees of criticality? (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I don't personally care who watches my step counter or mileage tracker. Who's gonna be pissed off I walk five miles a day or try to use it against me? Actual medical records I would want locked down. Crap on my health tracking device? Meh.
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It's not how many reps you do at the gym that the FTC is concerned with, it's the ancillary data associated with it such as name, ID, email, etc.
Quit whining that *you* don't care what happens to your data, but at least care that the feds are telling app developers that they need to care moving forward.
In other words - The fed is making an effort of protecting *your privacy* regarding any health-related bit of info, regardless of if you care or not. This is not nanny state behavior. This is what developer
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It's not the developers that want to siphon all the data. It's the marketing teams standing on the developer's shoulders screaming in their ear to siphon all the data because it's monetizable.
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Unhh....no. I mean, you have a point, but this rule seems to only apply to intrusions from outside.
False PII (Score:2)
I assume that any information from my fitness watch is going to be compromised. That's why it's registered with fake personal information and linked to a unique-to-it email address.
Really? (Score:2)