<p>If you look at the apps on your phone, chances are you have at least one related to your health—and probably several. Whether it is a mental health app, a fitness tracker, a connected health device or something else, many of us are taking advantage of this technology to keep better track of our health in some shape or form. Recent research from the Organization for the Review of Care and Health Applications found that 350,000 health apps were available on the market, 90,000 of which launched in 2020 alone.<br>While these apps have a great deal to offer, it is not always clear how the personal information we input is collected, safeguarded and shared online. Existing health privacy law, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is primarily focused on the way hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and insurance companies store health records online. The health information these apps and health data tracking wearables are collecting typically does not receive the same legal protections.<br>Without additional protections in place, companies may share (and potentially monetize) personal health information in a way consumers may not have authorized or anticipated. In 2021, Flo Health faced a Federal Trade Commission（FTC） investigation. The FTC alleged in a complaint that "despite express privacy claims, the company took control of users' sensitivity fertility data and shared it with third parties.” Flo Health and the FTC settled the matter with a Consent Order requiring the company to get app users' express affirmative consent before sharing their health information as well as to instruct the third parties to delete the data they had obtained.<br>Section 5 of the FTC Act empowers the FTC to initiate enforcement action against unfair or deceptive acts, meaning the FTC can only act after the fact if a company's privacy practices are misleading or cause unjustified consumer harm. While the FTC is doing what it can to ensure apps are keeping their promises to consumers around the handling of their sensitive health information, the rate at which these health apps are hitting the market demonstrates just how immense of a challenge this is.<br>As to the prospects for federal legislation, commentators suggest that comprehensive federal privacy legislation seems unlikely in the short term. States have begun implementing their own solutions to shore up protections for consumer-generated health data. California has been at the forefront of state privacy efforts with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. Virginia，Colorado and Utah have also recently passed state consumer data privacy legislation.<br>1.The research findings are cited in Paragraph 1 to show ________.</p><p>2.What does the author imply about existing health privacy law?</p><p>3.Before sharing its users' health information, Flo Health is required to____.</p><p>4. What challenges is the FTC currently faced with?</p><p>5.It can be learned from the last paragraph that health data protection ________.</p><div tdoc-="" inner_data_type="webData"></div><div><div><p><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div tdoc-="" health="" information,="" flo="" is="" required="" to____.","range":{"gcpbegin":0,"len":0}},"builtinstylename":""},{"operationtype":"modifyrunprop","param":{"range":{"gcpbegin":0,"len":76},"property":{"rfonts":{"ascii":"arial,="" helvetica,="" sans-serif","hansi":"arial,="" sans-serif","eastasia":"arial,="" sans-serif","cs":"arial,="" sans-serif","asciitheme_i":true,"hansitheme_i":true,"eastasiatheme_i":true},"b":{"val":false},"i":{"val":false},"strike":{"val":false},"color":{"val":"19233c"},"spacing":{"val":0},"sz":{"val":210},"u":{"val":"stunderline_none"},"shd":{"val":"stshd_clear","color":"auto","fill":"ffffff"},"author":"p.13102702371104562"},"mode":1},"propertytype":"runproperty","builtinstylename":""},{"operationtype":"inserttext","param":{"text":"\r","range":{"gcpbegin":76,"len":0}},"builtinstylename":""},{"operationtype":"modifyrunprop","param":{"range":{"gcpbegin":76,"len":1},"property":{"rfonts":{"ascii":"arial,="" sans-serif","asciitheme_i":true,"hansitheme_i":true,"eastasiatheme_i":true},"b":{"val":false},"strike":{"val":false},"color":{"val":"19233c"},"spacing":{"val":0},"sz":{"val":210},"u":{"val":"stunderline_none"},"shd":{"val":"stshd_clear","color":"auto","fill":"ffffff"},"author":"p.13102702371104562","isplaceholder":true},"mode":1},"propertytype":"runproperty","builtinstylename":""},{"operationtype":"modifyparagraphprop","param":{"range":{"gcpbegin":76,"len":1},"property":{"pbdr":{},"snaptogrid":{"val":true},"spacing":{"before":0,"after":60,"line":377},"ind":{"left":0},"taskpr":{},"numpr":{}},"mode":1},"propertytype":"paragraphproperty","builtinstylename":""}],"substory":[],"srcglobalpadid":"w3_abia2qboabqefpcahcurjetyx1bss","copystart":17501}"="" inner_data_type="webData"></div><div><div><p><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div>
第1题:
【选项释义】
The research findings are cited in Paragraph 1 to show ________. 第一段引用研究结果是为了说明________。
A. the prevalence of health apps A. 健康应用程序的盛行
B. the public concern over health B. 公众对健康的关注
C. the popularity of smartphones C. 智能手机的普及
D. the advancement of technology D. 科技的进步
【答案】A
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词The research findings可以定位到文章第一段最后一句Recent research from the Organization for the Review of Care and Health Applications found that 350,000 health apps were available on the market, 90,000 of which launched in 2020 alone.（护理与健康应用审查组织最近的研究发现，市场上有35万个健康应用，其中仅在2020年就有9万个推出。），说明健康应用非常普及。因此A选项“健康应用程序的盛行”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“公众对健康的关注”，C选项“智能手机的普及”和D选项“科技的进步”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What does the author imply about existing health privacy law? 作者对现行的健康隐私法有何暗示？
A. Its coverage needs to be extended. A. 需要扩大其覆盖范围。
B. Its enforcement needs strengthening. B. 需要加强执行。
C. It has discouraged medical misconduct. C. 它阻止了医疗不端行为。
D. It has disappointed insurance companies. D. 它让保险公司失望了。
【答案】A
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词existing health privacy law可以定位到文章第二段第二、三句Existing health privacy law, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is primarily focused on the way hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and insurance companies store health records online. The health information these apps and health data tracking wearables are collecting typically does not receive the same legal protections.（现有的健康隐私法，如《健康保险可携带性与责任法案》，主要针对医院、医生办公室、诊所和保险公司在线存储健康记录的方式。这些应用程序和健康数据追踪可穿戴设备收集的健康信息通常得不到同样的法律保护。），说明作者认为健康应用和健康数据追踪可穿戴设备收集的健康信息通常不受相同的法律保护，而现有法律的覆盖范围需要扩大。因此A选项“需要扩大其覆盖范围。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“需要加强执行。”，C选项“它阻止了医疗不端行为。”和D选项“它让保险公司失望了。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Before sharing its users’ health information, Flo Health is required to ________. 在共享用户的健康信息之前，Flo Health需要________。
A. seek the approval of the FTC A. 寻求联邦贸易委员会的批准
B. find qualified third parties B. 寻找合格的第三方
C. remove irrelevant personal data C. 删除不相关的个人数据
D. obtain their explicit permission D. 获得用户的明确许可
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Flo Health可以定位到文章第三段最后一句Flo Health and the FTC settled the matter with a Consent Order requiring the company to get app users’ express affirmative consent before sharing their health information as well as to instruct the third parties to delete the data they had obtained.（Flo Health与联邦贸易委员会以同意令的形式解决了此事，同意令要求该公司在共享应用程序用户的健康信息前征得用户的明确同意，并指示第三方删除所获得的数据。），说明在分享用户的健康信息之前，Flo Health被要求获得用户的明确许可。因此D选项“获得用户的明确许可”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“寻求联邦贸易委员会的批准”，B选项“寻找合格的第三方”和C选项“删除不相关的个人数据”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What challenges is the FTC currently faced with? 联邦贸易委员会目前面临哪些挑战？
A. The complexity of health information. A. 健康信息的复杂性。
B. The rapid increase in new health apps. B. 新的健康应用程序迅速增加。
C. The subtle deceptiveness of health apps. C. 健康应用程序的微妙欺骗性。
D. The difficulty in assessing consumer harm. D. 难以评估对消费者的伤害。
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词FTC可以定位到文章第四段最后一句While the FTC is doing what it can to ensure apps are keeping their promises to consumers around the handling of their sensitive health information, the rate at which these health apps are hitting the market demonstrates just how immense of a challenge this is.（虽然联邦贸易委员会正在尽其所能确保应用程序在处理消费者敏感健康信息方面遵守对消费者的承诺，但这些健康应用程序进入市场的速度表明，这是一个多么巨大的挑战。），说明FTC目前面临的挑战之一是新健康应用的迅速增长。因此B选项“新的健康应用程序迅速增加。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“健康信息的复杂性。”，C选项“健康应用程序的微妙欺骗性。”和D选项“难以评估对消费者的伤害。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
It can be learned from the last paragraph that health data protection ________. 从最后一段可以得知，健康数据保护________。
A. has been embraced by health app developers A. 已被健康应用程序开发者接受
B. has been a focus of federal policy-making B. 已成为联邦政策制定的重点
C. has encountered opposition in California C. 在加利福尼亚州遭到反对
D. has gained legislative support in some states D. 在一些州获得了立法支持
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词health data protection可以定位到文章最后一段倒数第一、二句California has been at the forefront of state privacy efforts with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. Virginia, Colorado, and Utah have also recently passed state consumer data privacy legislation, and other states are considering legislation.（加利福尼亚州通过2018年《加利福尼亚消费者隐私法案》走在了各州隐私保护工作的前列。弗吉尼亚州、科罗拉多州和犹他州最近也通过了州消费者数据隐私立法，其他州也在考虑立法。），说明一些州正在立法保护健康数据。因此D选项“在一些州获得了立法支持”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“已被健康应用程序开发者接受”，B选项“已成为联邦政策制定的重点”和C选项“在加利福尼亚州遭到反对”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
如果你看看自己手机上的应用程序，很可能至少有一个与健康有关，甚至可能有好几个。无论是心理健康应用程序、健身追踪器、联网健康设备还是其他，我们中的许多人都在利用这种技术，以某种形式更好地跟踪自己的健康状况。护理与健康应用审查组织最近的研究发现，市场上有35万个健康应用，其中仅在2020年就有9万个推出。
虽然这些应用程序可以提供很多服务，但我们输入的个人信息是如何被收集、保护和在线共享的并不总是很清楚。现有的健康隐私法，如《健康保险流动与责任法案》，主要针对医院、医生办公室、诊所和保险公司在线存储健康记录的方式。这些应用程序和健康数据追踪可穿戴设备收集的健康信息通常得不到同样的法律保护。
如果没有额外的保护措施，公司可能会以消费者未授权或未预料到的方式共享（并可能货币化）个人健康信息。2021年，Flo Health 面临联邦贸易委员会的调查。联邦贸易委员会在一份投诉中称，“尽管该公司明确提出了隐私声明，但仍控制了用户的敏感生育数据，并与第三方共享了这些数据。”Flo Health与联邦贸易委员会以同意令的形式解决了此事，同意令要求该公司在共享应用程序用户的健康信息前征得用户的明确同意，并指示第三方删除所获得的数据。
《联邦贸易委员会法案》第5条授权联邦贸易委员会对不公平或欺骗性行为采取执法行动，这意味着只有当公司的隐私行为具有误导性或对消费者造成不合理的伤害时，联邦贸易委员会才能在事后采取行动。虽然联邦贸易委员会正在尽其所能确保应用程序在处理消费者敏感健康信息方面遵守对消费者的承诺，但这些健康应用程序进入市场的速度表明，这是一个多么巨大的挑战。
至于联邦立法的前景，评论家认为，短期内全面的联邦隐私立法似乎不太可能。各州已开始实施自己的解决方案，以加强对消费者生成的健康数据的保护。加利福尼亚州通过了《2018年加利福尼亚消费者隐私法案》，走在了各州隐私保护工作的前列。弗吉尼亚州、科罗拉多州和犹他州最近也通过了州消费者数据隐私立法，其他州也在考虑立法。
【出处】《福布斯》2022.5.10
