One Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner, Julie Brill, has voiced heavy concerns for the collection and utilization of health data on apps. Brill feels the need for heavy restrictions, highlighting privacy concerns as with the infamous Target of a pregnant teen. (The company sent coupons for maternity products to the teen’s father, who had been unaware of her pregnancy, based on predictions from customer data. Read the – hyperbolized – story here.)

While this issue is still a huge grey area, many health IT startups have already begun work, and the FTC’s domain does not include the HIPAA privacy enforcement. Also echoing Brill’s call for regulations is Morgan Reed, executive director of Association for Competitive Technology. Reed also serves as legal and policy chair of HIMSS.