Virtual therapy app BetterHelp banned from sharing health data with Facebook and Snapchat for advertising
The HinduThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission has banned the virtual therapy app BetterHelp from sharing users’ data with Facebook and Snapchat for advertising, and has ordered the company to pay $7.8 million to some of its users in settlement. The app collected users’ contact details, personal information, and other sensitive mental health data, stating that they would protect it. “For example, the company used consumers’ email addresses and the fact that they had previously been in therapy to instruct Facebook to identify similar consumers and target them with The FTC has levied new conditions that BetterHelp will have to follow when handling clients’ information, such as getting proper consent from customers before sharing their data, and directing third-parties to delete consumer health data revealed by BetterHelp. The Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine, said that BetterHelp had “betrayed consumers’ most personal health information for profit.” In 2020, BetterHelp also falsely denied reports that it revealed consumers’ personal data, according to the FTC.
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Therapy via apps | Discreet healthcare or data at risk?
The Hindu
BetterHelp: Online therapy company ordered to pay millions ‘for sharing customer data’
The Independent
BetterHelp shared users’ sensitive health data, FTC says
Associated Press
FTC fines GoodRx for unauthorized sharing of health data
Associated Press
FTC fines GoodRx for unauthorized sharing of health data
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