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Healthcare.gov Sends Personal Data To Over a Dozen Tracking Websites
An anonymous reader tips an Associated Press report saying that Healthcare.gov is sending users' personal data to private companies. The information involved is typical ad-related analytic data: "...it can include age, income, ZIP code, whether a person smokes, and if a person is pregnant. It can include a computer's Internet address, which can identify a person's name or address when combined with other information collected by sophisticated online marketing or advertising firms." The Electronic Frontier Foundation confirmed the report, saying that data is being sent from Healthcare.gov to at least 14 third-party domains.
The EFF says, "Sending such personal information raises significant privacy concerns. A company like Doubleclick, for example, could match up the personal data provided by healthcare.gov with an already extensive trove of information about what you read online and what your buying preferences are to create an extremely detailed profile of exactly who you are and what your interests are. It could do all this based on a tracking cookie that it sets which would be the same across any site you visit. Based on this data, Doubleclick could start showing you smoking ads or infer your risk of cancer based on where you live, how old you are and your status as a smoker. Doubleclick might start to show you ads related to pregnancy, which could have embarrassing and potentially dangerous consequences such as when Target notified a woman's family that she was pregnant before she even told them. "
The EFF says, "Sending such personal information raises significant privacy concerns. A company like Doubleclick, for example, could match up the personal data provided by healthcare.gov with an already extensive trove of information about what you read online and what your buying preferences are to create an extremely detailed profile of exactly who you are and what your interests are. It could do all this based on a tracking cookie that it sets which would be the same across any site you visit. Based on this data, Doubleclick could start showing you smoking ads or infer your risk of cancer based on where you live, how old you are and your status as a smoker. Doubleclick might start to show you ads related to pregnancy, which could have embarrassing and potentially dangerous consequences such as when Target notified a woman's family that she was pregnant before she even told them. "
Not really, most of the ACA was recycled Republican ideas, complete with bending over for the insurance companies and using private contractors to build the web site. Democrats are not absolved of blame, they were so giddy to get a chance to pass a national health insurance that they didn't really care about what was in it. Instead, they thought they'd heralded by Americans and show a Progressive success.
The idea of covering the uninsured is still a good one. In the U.S., you should not have to court bankruptcy due to common medical conditions. That said, I don't think the U.S. can afford all the health care Americans want. The current system is now a franken-system where a health problem is looked at as an economic opportunity for the health care industry. Look at your bill sometime for procedures. Even if your insurance company covered, it is still enough to make you wince.
a bigger fuckup than Obamacare?
Obama?
That doesn't matter to the agenda, it was a Republican idea and we had to do something.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!