consumer privacy Archives

“Years of Deception” Behind Consumer Privacy Violations Alleged

May 2nd, 2023|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: consumer privacy, emerging litigation, hb litigation, hunter schmitz, legal news, litigation articles, litigation settlements, personal identifiable information, Tom Hagy|

Mental Health Platform's Data Sharing Practices Challenged. BetterHelp allegedly shared personal identifiable info with third parties. FTC files administrative complaint asserting "years of deception." Days later, two class actions were filed in the Northern District of California. Online mental health company BetterHelp, Inc. is facing allegations on two fronts for allegedly sharing personal identifiable information with third parties and breaching consumer privacy. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) initiated an administrative complaint against the California-based online mental health company on March 2, 2023, after what they call years of deceptive practices and blatant denial of a media report published by Jezebel in February 2020. The article cited evidence that BetterHelp shares sensitive patient information and email account information with third parties such as Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest. Days after the FTC filed its complaint, consumers filed two class actions in the Northern District of California’s San Jose Division (C.M. v. BetterHelp, Inc., March 7, 2023, 5:23-cv-01033 and Jane Doe v. BetterHelp, Inc., March 11, 2023, 5:23-cv-01096). Both consumer privacy lawsuits state that their facts are largely supported by experts in the field of data privacy. BetterHelp is a Delaware corporation with its principal office or place of business in Mountain View, Calif. On its website the company claims it is the “world’s largest therapy platform” with more [...]

California Enacts the ‘First Truly Sweeping Privacy Regime’ in Record Time

The California legislature -- apparently not wanting to be pegged as just another slow-moving governing body -- took the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 from proposal to passage to signing in one week. Critics weren't sitting on their hands either. "Businesses Blast California’s New Data-Privacy Law," read one headline in the Wall Street Journal. For consumers, Californians anyway, the good news is that they can refuse to allow companies to sell their personal data. But, the WSJ reported, business across the country say the law will cause "far-reaching damage to everything from retailers’ customer-loyalty programs to data gathering by Silicon Valley tech giants." Law firms are cranking out their advisories and analyses. Sullivan & Cromwell says the CCPA establishes a new privacy framework for covered businesses by: "Creating an expanded definition of personal information for purposes of the Act; "Creating new data privacy rights for California consumers, including rights to know, access, have deleted and opt out of the sale of their personal information; "Imposing special rules for the collection of consumer data from minors; and "Creating a new and potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the Act and for businesses that fail to implement reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches." The firm also offered a quick comparison between the CCPA and the GDPR. "At a high [...]