Afterlives of Data

Drexel sociologist Mary Ebeling traces the path your medical records take after they leave your hands — through healthcare providers, Equifax, Experian, Palantir, and commercial data brokers — and shows how that data comes to score your creditworthiness and shape your life chances with almost no regulatory oversight. Published by UC Press in 2022 and reviewed positively at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, the book is grounded in original ethnographic research and draws on feminist science and technology studies. Ebeling writes accessibly for a policy audience, which is no small feat given the complexity of the subject. The caveat: this is systemic critique, not a how-to guide, and the regulatory landscape it describes keeps moving. Dense but important.