Several Amazon Go Stores Are Crumbling

Amazon is closing eight of its Amazon Go stores including two in New York City, effective early this Spring. The company confirmed the closures in an email to Gizmodo but clarified the only stores affected were those that had minimal impact on customers.

Read more…

An Unexpected Reason It'll Be Harder to Breathe as Earth Warms

As global temperatures and emissions rise, it’s going to become harder to breathe. Air quality issues won’t just come from human activity, though—the natural world could also release more pollution in a rapidly warming world.

Read more…

There’s No Way The Walking Dead Has a Good Answer for Why Daryl’s in France

The Walking Dead spin-off Daryl Dixon begins in a rather unexpected way: Daryl, who was very much in America the last time we saw him on TWD proper, washing ashore on the coast of France without any idea of how he got there. It’s a bananas premise, but it’s also an incredibly intriguing one—how on Earth could he get…

Read more…

New Senate bill aims to better protect health data after Roe reversal

A new Senate bill aims to expand protections for Americans’ health and location data. It follows concerns that such information could be used to identify individuals seeking reproductive health care services after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion last year. 

The Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act seeks to block companies from selling personally identifiable health data for advertising purposes and ban data brokers from buying and selling precise location data. Moreover, the proposed legislation would afford consumers more access to and ownership over their health data. It would also place more restrictions on companies’ use of personal health data without the explicit consent of a user.

The bill aims to prohibit the use of personally identifiable health data from any source for advertising. This includes data from users themselves, medical centers, fitness trackers and browser histories. The UPHOLD Privacy Act’s restrictions wouldn’t apply to public health campaigns.

The legislation was introduced by Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Mazie Hirono. “With Republicans working to ban and criminalize reproductive health care nationwide, it’s critical we safeguard the reproductive data privacy of everyone in our country,” Hirono said in a statement. “Everyone should be able to trust that personal data about their bodies and their health care will be protected. By restricting the sale and use of personally identifiable health data, this bill will give patients and providers the peace of mind that their private information is secure.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, legislators have not made much headway toward protecting consumer health data. Period-tracking apps have given some particular cause for concern. Developers of some of these apps have since introduced features and policies to help protect their users’ data.

The Federal Trade Commission said soon after the Supreme Court ruling that it would clamp down on companies which misuse health and location data. This week, the agency moved to ban online counseling service BetterHelp from sharing consumers’ health data for ad targeting without consent. The FTC found that the company shared users’ email addresses, IPs and health questionnaire responses. BetterHelp says it has never shared clinical data from therapy sessions with advertisers, publishers or social media companies.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-senate-bill-aims-to-better-protect-health-data-after-roe-reversal-211457607.html?src=rss

Doctor: Lesion Removed From Biden’s Chest Was Cancerous

A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer.

We Tried Mercedes' New Self-Driving Tech, And It's Better Than Tesla Full Self-Driving In One Big Way

Truly autonomous cars are still the stuff of science-fiction, but Mercedes is bringing U.S. drivers one step closer with Drive Pilot. SlashGear went for a ride.

Ring Is Putting Free Features Behind A Paywall And Users Are Outraged

Ring is changing up its subscription model around existing features, but with increased rates, many are not thrilled with these substantial changes.

Meet Ghostface, Dine on a Stabby Meal, and Venture Into the Scream Experience

In anticipation of Scream VI, Paramount has brought a little bit of Ghostface’s world to fans with two immersive experiences in Los Angeles, CA.

Read more…

The Heavy-Lifting, High-Flying Helicopter Used In Combat And Disaster Relief

The Chinook, which has been in continuous service since 1962, derives its longevity from what it can carry.

Controversial Lithium Mine Moves Forward in Nevada

 

Read more…