Attorneys common in 9 states and the District of Columbia are urging Apple this week to introduce new App Retailer necessities designed to safeguard delicate well being knowledge linked to reproductive care.

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner, the dozen chief regulation enforcement officers accused the corporate of leaving open a “hole” in its knowledge safety insurance policies that, they stated, “threatens the privateness and security of App Retailer customers, and runs instantly counter to Apple’s publicly expressed dedication to guard person knowledge.”

The officers are asking Prepare dinner to implement new guidelines on app builders requiring the deletion of non-essential knowledge, together with the placement and search histories of customers “searching for, accessing, or serving to to supply reproductive well being care.”

Moreover, the officers urged Apple to demand app makers certify they’d solely disclose reproductive well being knowledge in response to a “legitimate subpoena, search warrant, or courtroom order.” App makers ought to be required, the officers stated, to supply “clear and conspicuous notices” to customers each time there’s a possible for such well being knowledge to be disclosed to 3rd events.

“Third-party apps obtainable on the App Retailer acquire customers’ personal reproductive well being knowledge, which may be weaponized towards customers by regulation enforcement, personal entities, or people,” the officers stated.

The letter proclaims Apple prospects have made their issues about the best way cellular apps are dealing with reproductive knowledge clear within the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court docket case that eradicated the constitutional proper to an abortion after nearly 50 years. And whereas Apple continuously touts that privateness is amongst its “core values,” the corporate has “not carried out sufficient” on this explicit regard, the letter says.

“Shoppers can’t belief Apple’s privateness guarantees if purposes on the App Retailer will not be required to take lively measures to guard this delicate well being knowledge,” the officers added.

The letter is signed by New Jersey Lawyer Common Matt Platkin, who led the hassle to strategy Prepare dinner, in addition to the attorneys common for California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.

Bloomberg and Huffpost beforehand reported on the letter this week.

At time of writing, the repeal of the landmark Roe v. Wade resolution has both triggered or resulted in state legal guidelines banning most abortions in 13 states. This consists of 9 states the place no exceptions are made for victims of rape or incest. (Mississippi’s regulation consists of an exception for rape, however not incest.)

Republican legislators in eight different states have tried to cross bans however are being blocked by courts at current whereas authorized battles play out.

The criminalization of abortion has ignited new fears over the digital surveillance practices of state and native regulation enforcement businesses, significantly in states equivalent to Texas, the place individuals face potential legal prosecution for serving to abortion seekers journey to different states the place care remains to be authorized.

There are additionally issues in Texas that judges may order web firms to give up knowledge in civil instances arising from the state’s abortion bounty system. The system successfully deputizes bizarre residents to sue anybody concerned in performing an abortion. Vigilante claimants stand to gather money funds of $10,000 in every case gained.

Of equal concern is regulation enforcement businesses probably sidestepping the courts altogether and utilizing a Fourth Modification loophole to buy location knowledge. Whereas the Supreme Court docket has held that it’s unconstitutional for police to compel entry to location knowledge and not using a warrant, the U.S. Justice Division and different numerous businesses have decided shopping for it as an alternative is authorized.

State and native police businesses are already identified to buy software program that makes use of cellular app knowledge to trace individuals’s actions. Such instruments have the potential for use to trace exercise round ladies’s well being clinics or to assist prosecutors floor proof towards anybody touring out of state for a process.

Of their letter to Apple, the 9 attorneys common additionally highlighted particular issues round interval trackers, being pregnant and fertility apps, and well being and health wearable gadgets. Citing a current survey by the nonprofit Mozilla Basis, the officers famous that many apps failed to fulfill minimal safety requirements, and that some even lacked “primary privateness insurance policies, not to mention insurance policies that addressed using delicate info.”

“We acknowledge Apple’s dedication to privateness and safety throughout its merchandise, as evidenced by its use of encryption to guard person well being knowledge in addition to its transparency into regulation enforcement requests for person knowledge,” the officers stated. “However that alone is inadequate if third-party apps on the App Retailer fail to respect and cling to Apple’s privateness ethos.”