Author: Susan J. Popkin and Harley Webley | Urban Institute

Parent and disabled son look at a tablet. FG Trade, Getty Images

Urban Institute | Stronger Data Privacy Protections Are Needed to Protect People with Disabilities

Throughout history, the federal government has used data against disabled people in harmful ways, including forcing sterilization of tens of thousands of women deemed “feebleminded”; undercounting disabled people in the census, limiting their access to programs and services; and using outdated definitions of disability to deny people access to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).