It's scary and all, but does it actually happen?

Does what actually happen? Prosecutions for abortions? Yes. Warrants related to people getting an abortion? Yes. A period tracker being used as the jump off point for those prosecutions/investigations? Hard to say, maybe? If the data is being sold it isn't hard to imagine that prosecutors and busybodies aren't currently mining that data.

▲

Muromec 20 hours ago | parent | next [-]

>Does what actually happen?

The latter. Somebody in a town of dumbfucknowhere, OH wakes up, downloads this data from a commercial company obtained legally or not and then charges an actual person with getting an abortion. It is technically possible, I would factor it in my threat model if it was my problem, but does it actually happen?

I see a potential motive for the person doing this -- either promotion, quota hitting, number bullshitting or religious zeal. They can probably get something out it?

▲

Chris2048 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> isn't hard to imagine that prosecutors

mainly because I have no idea whether it's realistic to imagine what prosecutors do. I can also easily imagine it to be illegal and wildly unrealistic behaviour for a prosecutor, in my ignorance.

> Warrants related to people getting an abortion?

The question here isn't whether abortion is illegal in some states, but about period tracking data could be used as evidence, or justify an investigation - especially data that is seemingly illegally obtained. AFAIK, illegally obtained evidence is normally not valid grounds for investigation, and might actually weaken the case based on "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine.

▲

cogman10 2 days ago | parent [-]

> I can also easily imagine it to be illegal and wildly unrealistic behaviour for a prosecutor

It's not [1]. There's no safeguards on information available for purchase like this. The US has very little in the way of digital privacy laws.

> especially data that is seemingly illegally obtained.

That's the thing, it's not illegal to sell private data. It's not illegal for prosecutors and cops to buy private data.

It definitely feels like it should be, so I get why you'd think that. Feels aren't the legal code.

[1] https://www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5752369/ice-surveillanc...

	▲	Chris2048 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> it's not illegal to sell private data In this case, though not covered by HIPAA, it's also not clear there was legal consent to sell this information given it was against their privacy policy.

▲

pavel_lishin 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes, often. See a few of the other replies in this thread for examples.