In a first-of-its-kind enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission has imposed a $1.5 million penalty on telehealth and prescription drug discount provider...
In a first-of-its-kind enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission has imposed a $1.5 million penalty on telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings Inc. for sharing users’ personal health data with Facebook, Google and other third parties without their consent.
Consumer protection advocates hailed Wednesday’s announcement as a potential game-changer that could seriously curtail a little-known phenomenon: The trafficking in sensitive health data by businesses not strictly classified as health care providers. It comes three years after Consumer Reports discovered that GoodRx was sharing people’s personal health information with more than 20 companies. “People told us they’d never expected that their sensitive information was being shared with the likes of Google and Facebook,” Marta Tellado, president and CEO of Consumer Reports, said in a statement Wednesday. “This is a win for consumers, and it could have a profound effect on how our health information is kept private moving forward.
Company spokeswoman Lauren Casparis said via email that GoodRx “used vendor technologies to advertise in a way that we believe was compliant with all applicable regulations and that remains common practice among many websites.” In a statement, Brookman said “health apps and websites have been giving away our personal data for years without consequence. This case should be a turning point — now companies have to understand that sharing customer data without clear permission will lead to investigations and fines.”The FTC said more than 55 million consumers have visited GoodRx’s website or mobile apps since January 2017.
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