The treasure troves of data tech companies have spent decades accumulating could put them right in the middle of efforts to prosecute people if the U.S. Supreme Court eliminates federal guarantees of abortion rights.

Why it matters: If Monday's leaked draft opinion becomes law, court orders could soon arrive at tech firm offices seeking info about individuals searching for emergency contraception, those seen near a suspected abortion clinic and more.

The big picture: Mass data collection and the potential for a surveillance state has been a growing, if largely abstract concern. But the seemingly imminent end to guaranteed legal access to abortion spotlights a specific risk such data can pose right now.

• Tech companies generally say they will protect user data, but comply with data demands required by local laws in countries where they operate.

What they're saying: While tech companies were loath to talk on the record about how they might address such legal requests, lawyers and some company executives are definitely having these discussions.

• And privately, many tech employees said they were glad the topic was finally being discussed.

Between the lines: Law enforcement and prosecutors have multiple ways to get many different kinds of data, including location data.

Bulk vs. individual: Law enforcement requests could come in the form of seeking data for a specific person or seeking, say, all people who were near a particular clinic.

• Tech companies have a track record of fighting bulk collection efforts more forcefully, for example, than do cellular providers, says Jennifer Granick, the ACLU's surveillance and cybersecurity counsel.

Lawful order vs. buying data: Right now there are no rules requiring law enforcement to obtain a court order for data they can purchase, and there's a lot of very personal information being sold by data brokers.

• Plenty of data is on the market, including some specifically related to abortion.

Medical data: In addition to non-medical information such as location, shopping and search data, medical records themselves could be targeted.

• While HIPAA restricts how providers share medical information, it doesn't prevent them from sharing it with law enforcement. "I don’t think people can rely on HIPAA as being a defense in these cases if there were a criminal prosecution," Granick said.

Be smart: It's not just people who have abortions who may find themselves the subject of investigations.

• Anyone who is pregnant and has a miscarriage, for example, might find prosecutors seeking their internet search or other data to determine whether a provider delivered illegal services.
• Likewise, as states have sought to criminalize gender-affirming health care, data requests could be used, for example, against parents researching health options for their kids.

Internet platform operators aren't the only players here. Wireless carriers have detailed personalized location information on every user with a cell phone as well as tower-specific data.

What companies can do: One key move for tech firms is to move from hoarding data to minimizing it, experts say.

• Apple officials, for example, are breathing a bit of a sigh of relief, since they don't store or have access to much of the information at stake in these conflicts.
• Other companies might want to use the time between now and when a ruling becomes final to review their own practices on data collection.

What individuals can do: Experts say it may be time to rethink period-tracking apps and to rely more on incognito mode in browsers, turning off location tracking and data deletion.

• The Digital Defense Fund has a detailed set of recommendations here.

Amid a brutal market sell-off, tech companies that focus on streaming, e-commerce and social media are facing especially steep declines, Axios' Sara Fischer and Scott Rosenberg report.

Why it matters: Internet firms that benefited from pandemic habit changes are now being forced to trim their outlooks and spending as the market leaves behind a frothy era of soaring investments and zero interest rates.

Driving the news: Tech firms have started to announce layoffs, hiring freezes and spending cuts.

• Cameo, the hit app that connects celebrities to fans virtually, laid off 87 people Wednesday — about 25% of its workforce — in an effort to balance costs.
• Meta, parent to Facebook, is implementing a broad hiring freeze, per memos seen by Insider, and doesn't expect to meet its annual hiring goals.
• Netflix last week laid off staff from Tudum, its fan-centric editorial website launched in December.

Be smart: Long-established tech companies in sectors like IT, hardware, chips and business services have had the market's latest volatility built into their stock expectations for some time.

• For those companies, like Microsoft, IBM, and Apple, this market downturn so far looks more like cyclical retrenching than existential crisis.

But companies in streaming, like Netflix, Roku and Spotify, are facing particularly steep declines as consumers pivot to more in-person events and travel.

And startups face an even harsher reality.

• Upstarts across e-commerce, delivery and financial services are slashing costs and jobs in a bid to save cash, Axios' Dan Primack reports.
• Like Cameo, companies like Thrasio, GoPuff and Noom are looking to balance costs as venture investors retreat.
• In a time of rising interest rates, when investors can get simpler, safer returns, startup money can be tough to raise, spelling trouble for companies that don't yet have enough operating revenue to pay the bills.

What to watch: No one knows whether this latest market downturn will be a rough patch or a sea change.

• Since every market dip since the Great Recession — even 2020's cliff-dive after COVID-19 hit — has proven short-lived and been followed by another climb, tech investors have forgotten what a real recession looks and feels like.

Go deeper: Attention economy slowdown

President Biden on Thursday met with Christian Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union, along with other grassroots worker organizers at the White House, Axios' Herb Scribner reports.

Driving the news: There has been a sustained push for unions among workers from companies like Amazon and Starbucks, and Biden has broadly expressed support for these efforts.

What they're saying: "Just met the President lol he said I got him in trouble," Smalls tweeted after the meeting.

Details: Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh held a roundtable discussion with the organizers.

• The group was there to discuss their efforts to organize unions in their workplaces and how these efforts "can inspire workers across the country to make the choice to join or organize a union," the White House said in a statement.

State of play: Smalls met Biden after appearing in a Senate hearing Thursday that looked at whether the White House should offer contracts to companies that are accused of unfair labor practices, CNBC reports.

The bigger picture: Biden has expressed support for Amazon unionization in the past.

On Tap

• Whatever it is, I'll take two. Except IPAs. Not a fan.

Trading Places

• Salesforce announced its hiring of William MacMillan, former CISO of the CIA, as senior VP of security product and program management.

ICYMI

• Epic Games is partnering with Microsoft to make Fortnite available free on mobile devices. (CNET)

Crafty hackers have modified Fisher-Price's My First Gamepad to work as a full-fledged Xbox controller, the Verge reported.