SALT LAKE CITY — In a meeting Tuesday, state auditors told a legislative committee they need to put guardrails up when it comes to Utahns’ data privacy.
“We're not opposed to that, but we certainly want to draw some attention to some of the risks involved with data sharing," said auditor manager Jesse Martinson.
Auditors shared concern about how the Office of Vital Records and Statistics processes birth registration data, citing a 43-question worksheet new mothers voluntarily fill out with personal health information that’s shared with the CDC.
“None of this is disclosed in a transparent way to the mother when she's filling this out," said auditor supervisor Zackery King.
Utah is currently one of only five U.S. states that has consumer data privacy laws in place, regulating how companies manage and protect our data. No states have legislation that talks about how the state government itself uses our information.
“This is cutting edge stuff quite frankly, and Utah is at the cutting edge of it, which we're always proud when Utah leads out," said Marvin Dodge, the executive director of the Department of Government Operations.
The Department of Health and Human Services encourages legislators to pass a data privacy act, said executive director Tracy Gruber.
“The data that is collected through those birth certificates does serve a very important public health purpose," she said. "That is not to say that it should be used liberally by any stretch.”
