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New Va. law protecting reproductive health data prompts Walmart’s online data collection pop-ups

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2025

virginiamercury.com – Charlotte Rene Woods – 2025-07-08 04:25:00

by Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury
July 8, 2025

Disclosure pop-ups about the “cookies,” or other aggregate bits of data websites collect and store aren’t an uncommon experience while shopping online. What’s less common: when a pop-up indicates that your potential purchase of condoms, birth control medication or menstrual hygiene products is being noted digitally, a message Virginians have started seeing when they shop virtually for such products.

Since July 1, a new state law outlines that people’s personally identifiable reproductive or sexual health information cannot be obtained, disclosed, disseminated or sold without consumer consent. As new laws took effect in Virginia on July 1, Walmart has begun alerting customers about certain product or service searches and purchases.

“By viewing, searching for, or buying these products or services on our site, or using related features such as the Baby Registry, you consent to our use of this information to complete your purchase, provide the requested feature, and for general analytics, operations and fraud prevention,” a pop-up disclaimer now notifies people who visit Walmart’s website from within Virginia.

If consumers don’t want their data connected to their sexual or reproductive health to be stored, the disclaimer suggests they “avoid viewing, searching for, using or purchasing these products, services, or features.”

But not all pop-ups are new or specifically focused on reproductive-related information. Other retailers like CVS have more broad disclaimers about data collection. Its site explains that information collected about consumer behaviors is used “to provide our products and services recommendations, understand how you engage with our site, and improve the services we offer you.”

It also warns that it may share data with “trusted third parties” that include marketing, analytics and research “partners.”

This sort of data collection is a common practice in e-commerce and is a catalyst for targeted advertisements that people experience elsewhere on the internet, like their social media feeds or when using search engines.

As the national reproductive health legal landscape shifts, including contraception and abortion access, some state and federal lawmakers have pressed for strengthened consumer protection laws surrounding reproductive health data.

Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax and Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, have introduced and supported legislation to shore up these protections.

Surovell said the U.S. Congress’ “My Body, My Data Act,” a measure to protect menstrual health data introduced by Democratic lawmakers, inspired him to bring a similar effort to Virginia.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize the information that private industry buys and sells about them,” he said in a recent call.

He then worried about how law enforcement and government officials could use consumer data in the private sector.

“I was concerned that attorneys generals in some other states who want to be more aggressive about prosecuting women or other people for helping women cross state lines to obtain either contraception or abortion services might use information that the private sector has in order to reverse engineer women and other people to prosecute,” Surovell said.

Surrovell and Favola also worked on bills to prevent menstrual data from being subject to search warrants, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law. Last year, Youngkin was lambasted by many, including former President Joe Biden and talk show host Stephen Colbert, for opposing the same bill in a previous legislative session.

“It should go without saying that when a woman has her period or visits a doctor, it is nobody’s business but her own,” Favola said earlier this year.

As more pregnant people travel to get abortions outside states where the medical procedure is banned or restricted, some states — including Alabama and Texas — have threatened legal repercussions for people who leave the state for an abortion, and for those who aid them.

This year Favola’s Senate Bill 754 passed the Democrat-controlled legislature and Youngkin signed it. The law protects reproductive health data, often collected in period tracking digital apps, and allows consumers to sue if their data is sold or released without their consent.

Walmart’s interpretation of the law prompted the pop-up disclaimer, and other companies will find their own way to follow suit.

“The companies are trying to figure out how to implement the bill,” Favola said in a text message.

Next, Favola wants to explore how to further refine the bill to ensure people’s identifiable information is protected.

“I made it clear that the law is focused on individually-identifiable data — not aggregate data,” she explained. “I expect to make some revisions next session.”

Further details will be discussed in a workgroup later this summer, she said.

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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post New Va. law protecting reproductive health data prompts Walmart’s online data collection pop-ups appeared first on virginiamercury.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article primarily reports on a new Virginia law protecting reproductive and sexual health data and the responses from Democratic lawmakers who championed it. The framing highlights privacy concerns related to reproductive rights and critiques opposition from conservative figures like Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which aligns with a Center-Left perspective emphasizing consumer protections and reproductive freedoms. The coverage is sympathetic to Democratic initiatives and concerns about data privacy in a shifting reproductive rights landscape, while presenting opposing views mainly through noted criticism rather than direct advocacy. Overall, it maintains a mostly factual tone but leans toward Center-Left through its focus and sources.

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FBI, DOJ release 11 hours of Epstein jail video, say he died by suicide and no ‘client list’ found

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

FBI, DOJ release 11 hours of Epstein jail video, say he died by suicide and no ‘client list’ found

Published

2 days ago

July 7, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-07-07 12:02:28

SUMMARY: The FBI and Justice Department released 11 hours of jail footage confirming Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Investigators found no one entered Epstein’s area overnight before his death. Crucially, no client list or credible evidence of blackmail involving prominent individuals was uncovered. Despite years of conspiracy theories, the investigation found no grounds to pursue uncharged third parties. Attorney General Pam Bondi reviewed the files under a directive from President Trump. Elon Musk once hinted at explosive information in the files but later retracted his statements. President Trump denies ties to Epstein.

The FBI and DOJ say new jail video confirms Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and shows no evidence of a blackmail “client list” or wrongdoing by others.

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News from the South - Virginia News Feed

One Good Thing: Babe Ruth League State champs

Published

2 days ago

July 7, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 12 On Your Side – 2025-07-07 11:37:49

SUMMARY: The Glen Allen 12-year-old All-Star team won the Babe Ruth League State Tournament this weekend. Curt Autry congratulated the team and wished them well on his Facebook page. The team’s victory is celebrated as a significant achievement, marking them as state champions in the Babe Ruth League. Community members and supporters expressed excitement and pride for the young players’ success in the tournament. This accomplishment highlights the dedication and talent of the Glen Allen team, bringing positive recognition to their hard work and teamwork throughout the competition.

Congrats to Glen Allen’s 12-year-old All-Star team!

For more Local News from WWBT: https://www.12onyourside.com/
For more YouTube Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-MRi3cyDN0DO1AvvVYFlg

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News from the South - Virginia News Feed

After Potomac crash, Norfolk touts airspace as coordinated and safe

Published

2 days ago

July 7, 2025

Staff Editor

virginiamercury.com – Nathaniel Cline – 2025-07-07 04:22:00

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
July 7, 2025

As scrutiny of flight safety intensifies nationwide, Norfolk International Airport officials say their shared airspace remains “safe,” thanks to close coordination with commercial airlines and military partners.

Questions about Norfolk’s airspace surfaced after a January collision between an American Airlines Bombardier jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. The crash, which killed all 64 people on board the jet, occurred as the plane prepared to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Reagan operates under restricted airspace to prevent aircraft from flying near high-risk areas and must accommodate heavy military and government air traffic. It’s located near the Pentagon, the White House, and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

Like Reagan, Norfolk works closely with the military — especially the Navy and Air Force — to manage constrained airspace and ensure helicopter traffic remains safely separated from its commercial runways.

“I think we are in a better situation,” said Mark Perryman, president and CEO of Norfolk International Airport, at the May 15 meeting with leaders in Hampton. “We’re not quite as congested (as DCA), although we do have a very congested airspace for an airport in a region our size, given all of the military installations, but it’s something that we have very good cooperation with the DoD and the FAA. We are safe.”

Perryman told the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) that Norfolk has earned a reputation as one of the best domestic airports, expanding its nonstop flight offerings significantly over the past decade.

Del. Bonita Anthony, D-Norfolk, who sits on the HRTPO, acknowledged the heightened public interest in aviation safety. She said Norfolk’s advantage lies in the region’s long-standing civil-military coordination — something that travelers should take comfort in.

“Our airspace is safe because Hampton Roads has the strongest records of civil and military coordination in the country,” Anthony told The Mercury.

She pointed to efforts in the 1990s to install advanced radar systems and transfer control tower operations as examples of the region’s aviation leadership. Anthony, who served on the engineering team at the time, described the transfer process as intense and technically complex.

Perryman also addressed helicopter traffic in the airspace north of Norfolk’s Runway 5/23. Unlike Reagan Airport, where helicopters operate closer to the flight paths, military choppers in Norfolk fly farther north, over the Chesapeake Bay.

That distance provides “far greater vertical separation,” said airport spokesman Chris Jones — several hundred feet more than what’s typical in airspace near DCA.

In May, the FAA reduced the size of three designated helicopter operating areas near Norfolk’s approach paths, further enhancing safety.

Norfolk International Airport, originally a military field, has operated for 85 years. Within 20-miles are three military installations with runways used for fixed-wing aircraft: Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field, Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis on the peninsula in Hampton.

Virginia Beach’s Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story lacks a runway but supports military helicopter traffic, Jones said.

With multiple facilities nearby and Newport News operating its own commercial airport, Hampton Roads remains a “busy region for aviation,” Jones noted, emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration.

“In a region with so many airports and air bases, this is to be expected,” Jones said. “Despite this, the conditions and practices now in place are such that they do not elicit safety concerns for travelers or military aviators.”

$5 million headed to Virginia airports

Seven airports in Virginia are set to receive a combined grant total of $5 million to support infrastructure improvements. The grants come through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration Airport Infrastructure Grant program.

U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, D-Va., have long supported improving Virginia’s airports.

“Investing in our airports means investing in safety, connectivity, and economic opportunity for communities across the Commonwealth,” said in a joint statement on June 27. “We’re proud to support these improvements that will help ensure Virginia’s airports continue to serve travelers and local economies for years to come.”

The grant awards

$2,948,555 to the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission to upgrade taxiways B, B1, B2, B3, and B4 at the Roanoke Regional Airport;

$730,000 to the City of Suffolk to expand the terminal apron Suffolk Executive Airport to allow for a wider variety of aircrafts;

$661,200 to the Chesapeake Airport Authority to remove trees obstructing operations at the Chesapeake Regional Airport;

$260,000 to the County of Halifax to install runway end identifier lights and a precision approach path indicator system at Halifax Stanfield International Airport;

$190,000 to the Town of Farmville to reconstruct the precision approach path indicator system for Runway 3/21 at Farmville Regional Airport;

$159,000 to the Dinwiddie County Airport and Industrial Authority to construct a new hanger for aircraft storage at Dinwiddie County Airport;

$110,000 to the Town of Tangier to reseal taxiway and apron pavement prolonging their lifespan at Tangier Island Airport.

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The post After Potomac crash, Norfolk touts airspace as coordinated and safe appeared first on virginiamercury.com

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content presents information about Norfolk International Airport and related federal funding in a straightforward, factual manner without evident partisan framing. It highlights aviation safety, collaboration between military and civilian entities, and infrastructure investment supported by Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. The coverage emphasizes practical concerns like safety and economic development rather than ideological viewpoints, maintaining a neutral tone appropriate for a broad audience. Thus, the overall presentation aligns with a centrist perspective.