The counseling service BetterHelp has agreed to return $7.8M to customers to settle with the FTC for sharing health data it had promised to keep private, including information about mental health challenges, with companies including Facebook and Snapchat.
FILE - The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington is pictured on Jan. 28, 2015. The online counseling service BetterHelp has agreed to return $7.8 million to customers to settle with the FTC for sharing health data it had promised to keep private including information about mental health challenges with companies including Facebook and Snapchat. The proposed FTC order announced Thursday, March 2, 2023, also limits how the California-based company may share consumer data in the future.
Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, however, said BetterHelp betrayed consumers’ most personal health information for profit. The FTC has made it clear of its intent to crack down on the trafficking in sensitive health data by businesses not strictly classified as health care providers and thus not covered by HIPAA, the federal privacy rules that govern the health care industry.
The company nevertheless revealed data including email and IP addresses and questionnaire information to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for advertising purposes, the FTC said in its complaint. It also accused BetterHelp of misleading customers and the public in 2020 by falsely denying news reports that it had revealed customers' personal data to third parties.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Online Counseling Service BetterHelp Settles FTC Charges It Sold User Data to Facebook and SnapchatOnline counseling service BetterHelp has been accused of selling user data to Facebook and Snapchat by the FTC. The online counseling service has agreed to pay a fine to settle the charges after the FTC alleged the company sold data about its users to Mark Zuckerberg and the Masters of the Universe after telling them it wouldn't.
Read more »
FTC moves to ban BetterHelp from sharing mental health data for ad targeting | EngadgetThe FTC says online counseling company BetterHelp shared mental health data with platforms including Facebook and Snapchat for ad targeting purposes..
Read more »
BetterHelp sold customer data while promising it was private, says FTCThe company shared data with companies like Facebook and Snapchat.
Read more »
FTC order bars BetterHelp from sharing data with social media platformsOnline counseling service BetterHelp will be banned from sharing consumer health data for advertising purposes and fined $7.8 million under a proposed Federal Trade Commission order.
Read more »
BetterHelp shared users' sensitive health data, FTC saysThe online counseling service BetterHelp has agreed to return $7.8 million to customers to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for sharing with companies including Facebook and Snapchat health data it had promised to keep private.
Read more »
FTC bans online health company BetterHelp from sharing data for adsFTC bans online mental health company BetterHelp from sharing user data for targeted ads, as federal crackdowns on info misuse intensify
Read more »