Speaker: Janet Freilich, J.D., Professor of Law and Faculty Fellow of Technology, Policy and Research at Boston University School of Law

Abstract: The federal government creates, collects, and disseminates enourmous amounts of information and data critical to the provision of healthcare. The government information environment has been changing. In February 2025, hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Provention (CDC) webpages disappeared; some were restored after a lawsuit, but many remain unavailable. Other government datasets have been modified without notice or record of changes, and some datasets that were formerly updated frequently have ceased or paused updating without explanation. A variety of legal challenges have sought to reverse these changes; while some have been successful, none are full solutions. State- and grassroots-based efforts have also sought to replace or restore federal government data, but these too cannot be full solutions. This lecture will discuss the scope of the challenges and the remaining problems.

To register