Vision: Too Little too Late? Do the Risks of FemTech already Outweigh the Benefits?

Abstract

Abstract: Female-oriented technologies (FemTech) promise to enable women to take control of their bodies and lives, helping them overcome the many existing challenges in medical care and research. From lack of data about women in general, to bias and discrimination in health studies, data sets, and algorithms, FemTech has come a long way to centre women in the design and development of such systems. Yet, the FemTech industry remains largely unregulated, particularly when it comes to security, privacy, and safety. These issues can lead to catastrophe given the highly sensitive nature of the data FemTech technologies handle. In this paper, we show how such threats are already putting women at risk; where in some cases, the lack of proper security and privacy safeguards can put human life at risk. We also present the results of some of our ongoing research on the massive data collection of FemTech about end-users and others (baby, partner, family, etc.). We set an agenda for research on the security and privacy of FemTech and call for a better legal framework to regulate FemTech.