‘Geofencing’ barred at abortion clinics

BOSTON (AP) — A settlement with a digital advertising company bars the firm from using a technology called geofencing to direct anti-abortion messages toward women entering reproductive health facilities in Massachusetts, the state attorney general said Tuesday.

The agreement was reached after Attorney General Maura Healey investigated whether Copley Advertising or John Flynn, a Brookline man identified as the firm's manager and sole employee, was violating the state's consumer protection laws. Copley denied any wrongdoing.

Geofencing allows ads to be directed to the mobile devices of certain people when they enter a designated location. The technology also allows those devices to be tagged so the messages can continue to be sent to the user through apps or web browsers for up to 30 days after they leave the location.

Consumers often don't realize when they install an app that they are allowing it to disclose information about their location that can then be used by advertisers.

"While geofencing can have positive benefits for consumers, it is also a tech- nology that has the potential to digitally harass people and interfere with health privacy," said Healey, a Democrat. "Consumers are entitled to privacy in their medical decisions and conditions."

The agreement, officially known as an assurance of discontinuance, applies only to Massachusetts and covers consumers entering or leaving any kind of health care facility, not just those providing abortion services.

In a statement, Flynn said the company was singled out by Healey's office for a challenge to what he considered free speech.