Yes, it's hard to argue against that. I didn't focus on it because the privacy harm of leaking to third parties seems greater than that caused by the URL going into browser history or server logfiles (the most relevant concerns I see.)
This doesn't excuse them, but it's interesting to consider that probably tens of thousands of sensitive Google, etc. searches per day go into query strings. I guess the difference is that Google doesn't know if your freeform search is sensitive, whereas a "Pregnant?" checkbox is known to be sensitive. But maybe general search engines should not be using query strings either, just in case.
Browser history could be a problem if, say, family member #1 (pregnant, but hasn't disclosed it) signs up right before family member #2 (who doesn't know about the pregnancy, and who family member #1 doesn't want to know about the pregnancy).
Then there's the issue of public computers, which people signing up for Obamacare may well be more likely to use (I don't know that for a fact, but it seems plausible... I know in my area they've had workshops where you come in and someone helps you sign up using a public machine).
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Yes, it's hard to argue against that. I didn't focus on it because the privacy harm of leaking to third parties seems greater than that caused by the URL going into browser history or server logfiles (the most relevant concerns I see.)
This doesn't excuse them, but it's interesting to consider that probably tens of thousands of sensitive Google, etc. searches per day go into query strings. I guess the difference is that Google doesn't know if your freeform search is sensitive, whereas a "Pregnant?" checkbox is known to be sensitive. But maybe general search engines should not be using query strings either, just in case.
Browser history could be a problem if, say, family member #1 (pregnant, but hasn't disclosed it) signs up right before family member #2 (who doesn't know about the pregnancy, and who family member #1 doesn't want to know about the pregnancy).
Then there's the issue of public computers, which people signing up for Obamacare may well be more likely to use (I don't know that for a fact, but it seems plausible... I know in my area they've had workshops where you come in and someone helps you sign up using a public machine).