US pharmacy chain CVS to bolster customer privacy protection after shareholder push

By Raghav Mahobe, March 28, 2023

CVS Health Corp will enhance its data privacy disclosures following a shareholder proposal that asked the pharmacy chain to address concerns around threats to customers’ reproductive health data, Arjuna Capital said.

Arjuna Capital, a Massachusetts-based investment adviser and frequent filer of shareholder resolutions, said it has withdrawn its proposal from going to a vote at the company’s annual meeting this spring.

Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last June overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.

“Shareholders are concerned data will be accessed without consumer consent by states that criminalize abortion,” Arjuna Capital’s shareholder proposal had said.

The healthcare conglomerate will work to further protect reproductive health data by enhancing its privacy statement regarding how it responds to requests from law enforcement agencies, publishing semiannual transparency reports on the number of legal information requests received among others, Arjuna Capital said on Tuesday.

CVS is committed to safeguarding the personal health information of patients, customers and members, the company said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

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