Online therapy platform BetterHelp will pay $7.8 million for reportedly sharing sensitive mental health info with Facebook, Snapchat and other advertisers for profit.
In a statement, BetterHelp said it used "limited, encrypted information to optimize the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns so we could deliver more relevant ads and reach people who may be interested in our services.""This industry-standard practice is routinely used by some of the largest health providers, health systems, and healthcare brands," the statement reads.
"This settlement, which is no admission of wrongdoing, allows us to continue to focus on our mission to help millions of people around the world get access to quality therapy," it continued.BetterHelp, based in California, offers online counseling services under several names, including BetterHelp Counseling.
People who are interested in the services fill out a questionnaire asking for "sensitive mental health information," according to the FTC, like whether they’ve ever experienced depression or suicidal thoughts or if they’re on medication. From there, customers are matched with a counselor and pay between $60 and $90 per session for counseling.The settlement is the first to give money to consumers whose health data was shared, the FTC said. The $7.
Direct third parties to delete the consumer health and other personal data that BetterHelp shared with them.
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