Femtech's Reckoning: Privacy, Power, and Protection in Health Technology with Soribel Feliz

In this episode of Terms of Service, host Mary Camacho speaks with Soribel Feliz—AI governance and tech policy advisor—about the dangerous gaps between what health technology promises and what privacy law actually protects. Drawing from her experience advising on AI and emerging tech across the U.S. Senate, federal government, and Big Tech, Soribel examines how femtech and wellness apps claim to empower women while selling their most intimate data and leaving them vulnerable to law enforcement.This conversation starts with a moment at a pitch competition: a pregnancy app founder dismissed a question about law enforcement access with "we're HIPAA compliant" and turned away. That turning away from hard questions reveals the problem. As 210 pregnant women face criminal charges using data from apps that promised empowerment, this episode asks: what would it take to build health technology that actually protects the people who use it?Key TakeawaysHIPAA compliance doesn't mean privacy protection. Most consumer health apps aren't covered entities and can sell your data freely.Your health data is being sold without meaningful consent. Period tracking apps sold location data to anti-abortion organizations to target women visiting Planned Parenthood.Pregnancy loss can become criminal evidence. 210 pregnant women faced criminal charges using app data in the first year after Dobbs—HIPAA offered zero protection.Compliance ≠ actual protection. Checking regulatory boxes doesn't mean users are safe. Founders and investors must ask harder questions.Algorithms are personal. From hiring discrimination to insurance denials, AI systems make intimate decisions about people's lives with little transparency.Topics Covered / Timestamped Sections02:40 – The pitch competition moment: when "HIPAA compliant" became a shield against accountability04:31 – What HIPAA actually does and doesn't do08:49 – Period tracker data sold to Wisconsin Right to Life for anti-abortion targeting16:30 – Why consumer health apps aren't covered by HIPAA20:15 – Law enforcement access and pregnancy loss as criminal evidence32:18 – ChatGPT Health and the risks of sharing complete medical records37:50 – What Soribel learned in the Senate, at Meta, and Microsoft43:45 – Algorithms are personal: Workday's hiring discrimination lawsuit46:23 – Advice for founders: put your money where your mouth is50:26 – Follow Soribel's work on LinkedIn, Substack, and YouTubeGuest Bio and LinksSoribel Feliz – AI governance and tech policy advisor with experience advising on AI and emerging tech across the U.S. Senate, federal government, and Big Tech. She focuses on how AI systems create legal, ethical, and operational risk, especially in health tech and femtech, and how organizations can govern AI responsibly at scale. Her work highlights where privacy law and AI governance fall short and why robust governance frameworks matter now.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soribelfeliz/Substack: https://soribelfeliz.substack.com/YouTube: Algorithms are Personal - https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC4gbKlwc5VQ6AeCq7kH0ZHAResources Mentioned"So You Got the Privacy Officer Title - Now What?" by Teresa "T" Froester-FalkNear Intelligence / Wisconsin Right to Life – Senator Wyden's investigation into location data salesMobley v. Workday – AI hiring discrimination lawsuitPregnancy Justice Report – 210 criminal charges post-DobbsFurther Reading / Related EpisodesSoribel's "Femtech Reckoning" series on SubstackCall to ActionWhat does it mean to build health technology that actually protects the people who use it? Soribel Feliz offers a clear-eyed examination of where femtech is failing—and what it would take for founders, investors, and policymakers to ask the hard questions.CreditsHost: Mary CamachoGuest: Soribel FelizProduced by Terms of Service PodcastSound Design: Arthur Vincent and Sonor LabCo-Producers: Nicole Klau Ibarra & Mary Camacho