BetterHelp is in hot water after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) slapped the online counseling service company with a $7.8 million fine and a proposed ban from sharing consumers’ health data.
The agency announced that the proposed order will settle charges that BetterHelp revealed consumers’ sensitive data to companies including Facebook and Snapchat for advertising purposes. The order also prohibits BetterHelp from sharing consumers’ personal information with certain third parties that target consumers who previously had visited BetterHelp’s website or used its app, including those that never signed up for its counseling services.
"When a person struggling with mental health issues reaches out for help, they do so in a moment of vulnerability and with an expectation that professional counseling services will protect their privacy,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Instead, BetterHelp betrayed consumers’ most personal health information for profit. Let this proposed order be a stout reminder that the FTC will prioritize defending Americans’ sensitive data from illegal exploitation."
Going forward, the proposed order limits how BetterHelp can share consumers’ data. The company, which saw an increase in users during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a mental health platform that offers behavioral health services. The company has services under several names, according to the FTC, including BetterHelp Counseling; Faithful Counseling, which focuses on Christians; Teen Counseling, focused on teenagers with required parental consent; and Pride Counseling, focused on the LGBTQ community.
The company requires users to fill out a questionnaire that includes sensitive mental health information, as well as personal information such as name, email address and birthdate. Users are then matched with a counselor, and services cost between $60 and $90 per week for counseling.
When signing up and filling out the questionnaire, BetterHelp promised it would not disclose personal health data except for limited purposes and to provide counseling services. However, the company shared this information with third parties, including Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest, for advertising purposes. BetterHelp used the information and instructed Facebook to target those who had signed up and been in therapy to identify similar consumers and target them with BetterHelp counseling services advertisements. The advertisements helped BetterHelp bring in tens of thousands of new paying users and millions in revenue, according to the FTC.
“Despite collecting such sensitive information, BetterHelp failed to maintain sufficient policies or procedures to protect it and did not obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before disclosing their health data,” the FTC said in a statement. “BetterHelp also failed to place any limits on how third parties could use consumers’ health information—allowing Facebook and other third parties to use that information for their own internal purposes, including for research and development or to improve advertising.”
The agency also stated that BetterHelp lied to users and the public in 2020 by denying the company shared the information.
The $7.8 million fine will provide partial to consumers who signed up for and paid for BetterHelp’s services between August 2017 and December 2020. The commission’s proposed administrative complaint, which was approved unanimously by the body, also requires BetterHelp to:
- obtain affirmative express consent before disclosing personal information to certain third parties for any purpose;
- put in place a comprehensive privacy program that includes strong safeguards to protect consumer data;
- direct third parties to delete the consumer health and other personal data that BetterHelp revealed to them; and
- limit how long it can retain personal and health information according to a data retention schedule.
BetterHelp is not the only healthcare company coming under fire by the FTC. GoodRx, an online pharmacy, was recently hit with a $1.5 million civil penalty to settle violations of a rule regarding unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ personal health information.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."