The treasure troves of data tech companies have spent decades accumulating could put them right in the middle of efforts to prosecute people if the Supreme Court eliminates federal guarantees of abortion rights.
Why it matters: If Monday's leaked draft opinion becomes law, court orders could soon arrive at tech firm offices seeking info about individuals searching for emergency contraception, those seen near a suspected abortion clinic and more.
The big picture: Mass data collection and the potential for a surveillance state has been a growing, if largely abstract concern. But the seemingly imminent end to guaranteed legal access to abortion spotlights a specific risk such data can pose right now.
What they're saying: While tech companies were loath to talk on the record about how they might address such legal requests in post-Roe v. Wade abortion cases, lawyers and other executives at several companies are definitely having these discussions.
Between the lines: Law enforcement and prosecutors have multiple ways to get many different kinds of data, including location data, search requests and purchase history.
Bulk vs. individual: Law enforcement requests could come in the form of seeking data for a specific person or seeking, say, all people who were near a particular clinic, or maybe all out-of-state residents near a particular clinic.
Lawful order vs. buying data: Right now there are no rules requiring law enforcement to obtain a court order for data they can purchase, and there's a lot of very personal information being sold by data brokers.
Medical data: In addition to non-medical information such as location, shopping and search data, medical records themselves could be targeted. And those records are far more digitized than they were in the pre-Roe era.
Be smart: It's not just people who have abortions who may find themselves the subject of investigations.
Internet platform operators aren't the only players here. Wireless carriers have detailed personalized location information on every user with a cell phone as well as tower-specific data, such as every customer who is near a specific location.
What companies can do: One key move for tech firms is to move from hoarding data to minimizing it, experts say.
What individuals can do: Experts say it may be time to rethink period-tracking apps and to rely more on incognito mode in browsers, turning off location tracking and understanding your options for data deletion.
What's next: Advocates say these looming data fights highlight the urgent need for a national data protection law as well as rules prohibiting bulk data requests from law enforcement.