Toni Dimaano Tech 03.06.2023 00:Mar AM EST

FTC Prohibits BetterHelp From Sharing Mental Health Data With Advertisers

BetterHelp, an online counseling provider, has settled with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it shared customer health data with Facebook and Snapchat for marketing purposes.

BetterHelp is prohibited from providing sensitive information about mental illnesses to third parties for marketing and ad targeting on Thursday, according to Bleeping Computer.

The FTC Believes That BetterHelp Introduce Risks To Vulnerable Individuals

The FTC wants to restrict BetterHelp, an online counseling service, from giving advertisers and marketers access to its clients' private mental health information.

BetterHelp must also pay $7.8 million as part of a deal with the FTC to compensate its customers whose private information was shared with Facebook and Snapchat.

BetterHelp is a well-known online counseling service that offers treatment to people who require it, such as those who struggle with depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, addiction, and more.

The FTC asserts that BetterHelp employed improper procedures for managing the data of users of its website and apps, including those who have not registered for counseling services.

According to the FTC, these activities, which the government agency refers to as "illegal," pose serious hazards to the health and safety of vulnerable individuals who live in unstable states and may even worsen their condition.

FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection Director S. Levine says that when someone with mental health problems seeks help, they do so in a vulnerable situation and with the assumption that confidential counseling services will be provided.

Instead, however, he claims that BetterHelp used customers' most private health information against them to make money, Bleeping Computer reports.

The FTC claims in a formal complaint that BetterHelp exchanged email addresses, IP addresses, and information from preliminary health questionnaires.

They were acquired when consumers filled out upon enrollment with Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest despite its pledges to the contrary.

The FTC asserts that third parties utilized this data for marketing functions, notably to locate customers with comparable profiles and advertise BetterHelp's counseling services.

BetterHelp Denies The Allegations

The FTC says that users had no choice but to provide the classified info when prompted in order to sign up for counseling services as the prompts to do so were presented to them.

They further claimed that BetterHelp did not obtain the subjects' agreement before using their data for advertising.

Furthermore, no security measures were taken to restrict how or with whom the provided health information could be used by the receiving third parties.

Additionally, if the order is approved, BetterHelp will be required to carry out the following obligations:

Obtain the user's consent before sharing their data with third parties for any purpose.
Introduce strong safeguards to protect consumer health data.
Demand and ensure that third parties who received BetterHealth user data in the past have now deleted it.
Limit the duration of time the service can retain sensitive health information.

Fierce Healthcare writes that BetterHelp provided a public comment on its website in response to the FTC's plan and accusations.

It claimed that the marketing tactics it employed between 2017 and 2022 were consistent with those employed by the country's main healthcare systems and providers as a whole.

We do not share and have never shared with advertisers, publishers, social media platforms, or any other similar third parties, private information such as members' names or clinical data from therapy sessions," BetterHelp claims.