Security News > 2023 > March > FTC: BetterHelp pushed users to share mental health info then gave it to Facebook

BetterHelp - whose business boomed during COVID lockdown - has denied wrongdoing, and claimed in a statement that it merely used "Industry-standard practice... routinely used by some of the largest health providers, health systems, and healthcare brands."

The filing alleged: "Between 2017 and 2018, Respondent uploaded lists of over 7 million Visitors' and Users' email addresses to Facebook. Facebook matched over 4 million of these Visitors and Users with their Facebook user IDs, linking their use of the Service for mental health treatment with their Facebook accounts."

The FTC also noted that BetterHelp "Prominently" displayed a seal that attested to purported compliance with America's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a law that outlines privacy and information security protection that residents can expect for their health information.

"No government agency or other third party" had reviewed BetterHelp's information practices for compliance with HIPAA, let alone determined that its practices met the requirements of HIPAA. The $7.8 million payment from BetterHelp will be used to provide partial refunds to people who signed up for and paid for BetterHelp's services between August 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020, the FTC said.

The counselling company told The Register in a statement: "BetterHelp and the FTC have reached a settlement in regard to BetterHelp's advertising practices that were in effect between 2017 to 2020 ... We understand the FTC's desire to set new precedents around consumer marketing, and we are happy to settle this matter with the agency. 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."

The direct-to-consumer mental health platform, which is owned by Teladoc Health Inc, boomed during COVID as people struggled to secure in-person appointments, with Teladoc reporting that BetterHelp was responsible for $1 billion of its revenues in FY2022.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/03/03/ftc_online_counseling_betterhelp/