Since its inception, HealthCare.gov has been marred with controversies, which then showered the Obama administration with immense criticisms. The latest one may have even more Americans dismayed.
According to a new Associated Press report, which was later confirmed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), individuals applying for health insurance on the website are having their personal information shared with dozens of third-party advertising and web analysis firms, a move that will inevitably incite privacy concerns.
Despite the fact that President Obama discussed enhancing online security during his State of the Union address Tuesday, Obamacare applicants’ age, location, income and other intimate details (pregnancy and smoking) are shared with outside companies. Therefore, when the information is shuttled to other websites, like Doubleclick, it can be then utilized to provide you with relevant ads for baby products if you have noted that you’re pregnant.
The interesting aspect to all of this is that an extensive profile of an Obamacare applicant could be established, even without the consent of the person. This means that the information may very well be profitable for those third-party advertisers. However, thus far, the newswire notes that none of the companies have used this data for commercial gain. Aaron Albright, a White House spokesperson, told the wire service that outside companies are banned from using this data for commercial needs, but did not elaborate as to how the information is protected in the first place.
Republican lawmakers aren’t waiting for third-party outlets to violate their mandate and are urging the president to personal information is not improperly used or shared.
“This new information is extremely concerning, not only because it violates the privacy of millions of Americans, but because it may potentially compromise their security,” said GOP Senators Orrin Hatch and Charles Grassley in a statement sent to the White House.
Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer, noted that hackers are likely “salivating” at the chance to attain this data.