BlogLine

MLB Approves Wearable Biometric Monitor During Games – What Are The Risks?

3/16/17

By: Amy C. Bender

Major League Baseball has announced it will allow players to wear a WHOOP Strap during games beginning in the 2017 season. The device gathers and analyzes levels of strain, sleep, and recovery by measuring factors such as heart rate, ambient temperature, and levels of motion. It specifically is targeted to athletes and aims to optimize performance and avoid overtraining and injury, such as by determining how much sleep athletes need to perform their best and when it’s time to pull a pitcher from the mound. The biometric data will be available to the player and his or her team as well as – if the player and team consent – the public.  The device has various privacy settings that provide the player control over how much and which data to share.

Importantly, from a data privacy perspective, certain questions naturally arise from use of the device. How much of the data will players and teams want and need to share with sponsors, fans, and competitors? Will – and should – players be able to withhold any of their biometric information from their own team? Can the device be hacked? While most information stored on computers or other electronic devices is subject to some type of cyber attack, data on pro athletes obviously would be of heightened public interest. If such information got into in the wrong hands, it could be used to damage a player’s present and future career prospects and the financial health of the player and the team.

It remains to be seen how prolific the device will become in baseball and other pro sports, whether it improves players’ performance, and if and how data stored in the device is vulnerable to cyber attacks. In the meantime, it should make sports more interesting to watch.

For more information contact Amy Bender at abender@fmglaw.com.