In a complaint filed on July 14, 2023, by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) against BetterHelp, Inc., the government alleged that BetterHelp disclosed the Visitor’s or User’s IP address in conjunction with other data about their enrollment in the Service and/or their Intake Questionnaire responses to third parties.
Each such disclosure constituted a disclosure of the Visitor’s or User’s protected health information because it both identified the individual (via the IP address) and conveyed to the recipient third party that the Visitor or User was seeking and/or receiving mental health treatment via the Service (via his or her enrollment in the Service or answering the Intake Questionnaire). BetterHelp, Inc., In the Matter of | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)
Specifically, the complaint alleges that BetterHelp shares its users’ health information with Facebook.
Respondent disclosed the Visitor’s or User’s IP address in conjunction with other data about their enrollment in the Service and/or their Intake Questionnaire responses to third parties.
– The FTC’s July 14, 2023 Complaint
In disclosing Visitors’ and Users’ health information to Facebook and other third parties, BetterHelp did not contractually limit how the third parties could use and disclose the data other than merely agreeing to these third parties’ general terms of service, which either placed no restrictions on the third parties’ use and disclosure of the information or specifically permitted the third parties to use the information for their own purposes.
If you are a BetterHelp member or user and you researched health conditions and treatments, answered health questionnaires, ordered medications, or scheduled telehealth visits on BetterHelp’s mobile application or website, https://www.betterhelp.com/, you may qualify for a claim under California state privacy laws of up to $5,000.
Information Which May Have Been Shared Without Your Consent:
Currently, legal action is being initiated to try and determine whether BetterHelp, Inc. may have violated California’s data privacy laws by tracking and sharing the following information from its website users:
- Your Name;
- Your Facebook ID;
- The Webpages (URLs) you visited;
- Your intake questionnaire responses;
- Your IP Address; and
- Your interest in seeking mental health treatment.
If you have visited the BetterHelp mobile application or website in the past year, you may qualify for compensation.