Addressing Online Health Privacy Risks for Older Adults: A Perspective on Ethical Considerations and Recommendations

Abstract

The rise in online health information seeking among older adults promises significant benefits but also presents potentially serious privacy risks. In light of these risks, we argue that ongoing research and advocacy aimed at promoting online health information seeking among older adults must be coupled with efforts to identify and address threats to their online privacy. We first detail how internet users reveal sensitive health information to third parties through seemingly innocuous web browsing. We then describe ethical concerns raised by the inadvertent disclosure of health information, which include the potential for dignitary harms, subjective injuries, online health scams, and discrimination. After reviewing ways in which existing privacy laws fail to meet the needs of older adults, we provide recommendations for individual and collective action to protect the online privacy of older adults.