Senators Criticize Trump Administration’s Demands to Access Health Data as a Condition for Lifesaving Aid by Sharon Lerner and Anna Maria Barry-Jester

Senators Criticize Trump Administration’s Demands to Access Health Data as a Condition for Lifesaving Aid Citing ProPublica’s reporting, eight senators wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioning the administration’s approach to foreign health data. They said it could set an “alarming precedent.” by Sharon Lerner and Anna Maria Barry-Jester https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-letter-health-data-africa-humanitarian-aid?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary “These new demands set an alarming precedent that is seemingly contrary to the Administration’s longstanding support for the privacy of U.S. citizens’ data.” — A letter from eight Democratic U.S. senators to Secretary of State Marco Rubio   Eight Democratic U.S. senators wrote a letter questioning the Trump administration’s demands to access the health data of millions of people as a condition of giving lifesaving aid to other countries. The letter, addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, cited our reporting on agreements the U.S. struck with African countries and the risks they posed to people there. The senators noted that the demands for data appear to be at odds with the Trump administration’s National Cyber Strategy, which emphasizes the right to privacy for Americans and their data. The State Department declined to answer specific questions about the letter. In a statement, a spokesperson defended the data requirements in the agreements, noting the new deals “share only the same kinds of aggregated, de-identified data that has been shared and used for years.” “Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns by Sharon Lerner and Anna Maria Barry-Jester https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-state-department-africa-uganda-aid-medical-data-privacy?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary Reporting Highlights Strings Attached: U.S. officials are demanding access to the health data of millions of Africans as a condition of giving billions of dollars in lifesaving aid to African countries. Privacy Concerns: Experts said the deals are vague and lack standard language to guard personal data from being exposed, misused or commercialized without people’s consent. America First: The U.S. said it needs access to the data to keep people safe and that it will be anonymized. The deals are part of a plan to use aid to make America “more prosperous.” These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.