The US government recently slapped a hefty $7.8 million fine on BetterHelp, an online therapy company, for disclosing confidential user data to social media companies like Meta and Snapchat. The company is also prohibited from using consumers’ health information for advertising purposes in the future.
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On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a significant fine on the California-based company and prohibited it from disclosing health data, including sensitive information related to mental health issues. Along with the ruling, the FTC also ordered it to partially refund customers.
The FTC is taking action for the first time to refund consumers whose confidential medical data was exposed.
The FTC warned that confidential medical data of people who used the telemedicine company from August 2017 to 2020 may have been exposed to outside parties.
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BetterHelp provides personalized counseling services for marginalized communities, such as teens and members of the LGBT+ community.
Before beginning the counseling process, users must complete a questionnaire that asks them to provide confidential information about their mental health, including whether they have ever had depressive episodes or suicidal ideation, as well as whether they are taking prescription medications.
They must submit their name, email address, date of birth , and other identifying information to complete the process.
According to the FTC, the company claimed that it would not use or disclose customers' personal health data for anything other than limited purposes, such as providing counseling services.
The FTC revealed that BetterHelp not only collected, but also shared data, such as email addresses and IP addresses, along with health research information to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for marketing purposes.
The FTC noted that the company used consumers' email addresses and the fact that they had previously received treatment to instruct Facebook to identify similar consumers and target them with ads for its counseling service BetterHelp.
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The federal agency said this move helped BetterHelp attract tens of thousands of new users and earn several million dollars.
The organization highlighted the fact that the company had neglected to impose restrictions on how third parties could use users' health data.
Source of information: independent.co.uk
