Albany, NY – On the 52nd anniversary of Roe w. Wade, Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing, passed her groundbreaking legislation, the New York Health Information Privacy Act (A.2141-A), which prohibits the sale of New Yorkers’ sensitive health data to third parties without consumer consent. This important bill is a monumental step forward in empowering New Yorkers, especially women, to control the fate of their health information under a second Trump Administration. 

This bill protects the commercial health data of anyone who downloads health-related apps, wears digital devices or purchases health-related products online in New York State. 

Health apps and other covered entities are required to obtain a consumer’s consent at least 24 hours after a person creates an account or uses the service before processing a person’s health data. To obtain a person’s consent, an entity must provide consumers with a notice outlining the types of regulated health information to be processed, the specific purposes for such processing, the third parties or service providers that would receive the information and any monetary value the entity could receive in processing a person’s data. All entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which include health professionals, hospitals, health clinics and health plans, are exempt from the data requirements of this bill. 

“Given Trump’s decision to provide America’s most powerful tech CEOs with ringside seats to his inauguration, it is urgent that New York do everything possible to safeguard people’s health data from the prying eyes, and potential misuse, of billion-dollar corporations,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan). “Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and others should never know when a person in New York ovulated, if they bought a pregnancy test, how many steps they took or how many calories they burned. The passage of my legislation ensures that New Yorkers, and New Yorkers alone, are in charge of their health data.” 

In 2023, the global mobile health app market was valued at $33.17 billion and is forecasted to grow to $88.70 billion by 2032. Approximately 81% of Americans erroneously believe that the data they share with health apps, websites or smart devices is protected under HIPAA. However, most information provided to health apps, such as fertility and menstrual data, is not covered by HIPAA, and as a result, can be unknowingly disseminated to social media conglomerates, data miners and law enforcement. 

This legislation not only protects the rights of all New Yorkers, but it also helps to prevent hostile statehouses and attorneys general from obtaining sensitive health information from women they suspect of having an abortion or seeking maternal care across state lines.

“The Trump Administration has already proven itself to be a lethal force against reproductive rights and care in the United States,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “As we navigate this new era in American politics, New York has a responsibility to ensure that the women living or traveling in the Empire State for reproductive and other health care are afforded the toughest, most stringent data privacy laws.”

This legislation passed the New York State Senate yesterday and will now be delivered to the Governor's desk.