.jpg?w=1024)
As people bring their most private health questions to AI chatbots, lawmakers are asking a blunt question: Who gets to profit from those conversations?
According to The Verge, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon are introducing an updated Health and Location Data Protection Act that would extend protections to sensitive health and location data collected through AI services. The proposal comes as AI companies increasingly encourage users to upload medical records, scans, prescriptions, and symptoms into chatbots for analysis.
The bill is less about whether AI can give useful medical guidance and more about what happens to the data once users hand it over.
AI is becoming a de facto health adviser
Beyond writing emails and generating code, people are increasingly asking AI chatbots to help analyze symptoms, organize medical records, explain prescriptions, and make sense of complex test results.
AI companies themselves have encouraged that behavior. In January, Elon Musk publicly urged people to use Grok AI for medical diagnosis, following a video in which he said that “you can upload your X-rays or MRI images to Grok, and it will give you a medical diagnosis.” Musk further noted that he has “seen cases where it's actually better than what doctors tell you."
OpenAI tagged along with the debut of ChatGPT Health in January, touting the platform as secure. Days later, Anthropic joined the club with Claude for Healthcare, built around the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
That trend is now reshaping lawmakers’ views on what information deserves stronger legal protection.
The commercialization of AI health data
The proposal is aimed less at AI’s medical capabilities than at the commercial value of health data. Every uploaded lab result, medical history, or symptom description contributes to a growing pool of sensitive data.
Under the revised bill, companies would be barred from selling and purchasing Americans’ health and location information — including data collected through AI services.
“It’s more important than ever that we crack down on data brokers that are raking in giant profits from selling Americans’ most sensitive information,” said Warren.
According to Warren’s office, the data brokerage industry is worth $300 billion and has largely profited by being unregulated, with health data gathered by these brokers sold to the highest bidder.
The new state of affairs
Warren notes that the bill, if passed, will not only ban these practices but also provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with over $1 billion over the next 10 years to carry out enforcement.
The legislation would also authorize the FTC, state attorneys general, and private individuals to seek damages and injunctive relief through lawsuits.
The proposal is backed by Sens. Ron Wyden and Bernie Sanders, along with Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Adriano Espaillat, Pramila Jayapal, and Rashida Tlaib. It still faces a difficult path through Congress. Even if Congress struggles to pass the bill, it could change the dynamic, not just in the US, but globally.
Also read: The Toumai surgical robot’s EU approval followed a long-distance prostate surgery performed from London on a patient in Gibraltar, highlighting how medical technology is moving deeper into regulated healthcare.