The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a rule Friday that aims to tighten the reins on digital health apps sharing consumers’ sensitive medical data with tech companies.
The agency issued a final version of its revised Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) to underscore the rule’s applicability to health apps in a bid to protect consumers’ data privacy and provide more transparency about how companies collect their health information.
The Health Breach Notification Rule requires vendors that manage digital health records, including health apps, that are not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to notify individuals, the FTC, and, in some cases, the media of a breach of unsecured personally identifiable health data.
Read the full article here.