Amazon, One Medical Deal Raises Data Issue, Hawley Tells FTC (1)

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is urging the Federal Trade Commission to review how Amazon.com Inc. will handle health data in the retail giant’s planned $3.49 billion purchase of primary care provider One Medical.

The commission should press Amazon on whether it would establish firewalls between patient data and retail customer data, Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a Thursday letter to the FTC. He raised concerns that a high blood pressure diagnosis, for example, could fuel targeted advertisements for related medication.

“Promoting wellness is one thing; dystopian corporate ‘nudging’ is quite another,” his letter said. Hawley questioned whether the deal should be allowed ...