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Authors

Timothy S. Hall

Abstract

This article explores some of the potential pitfalls associated with collection of detailed individual biometric or health-related information, and demonstrates that current laws and regulations are not well designed to protect users of these devices and apps from unauthorized use or misuse of their data. Health information is among the most sensitive, intimate, and potentially damaging personal information one may possess, and health policymakers have made health information privacy a priority for decades for good reason. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was one of the major health policy legislative achievements of the 1990s. However, HIPAA is of no value for the protection of individually collected biometric data of the sort discussed here.

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