The Federal Trade Commission sued Hims & Hers on Wednesday, alleging the telehealth platform shared customers’ health information with third-party platforms, including Meta and Snap, without their consent.
The complaint, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California, alleged that Hims & Hers shared the data despite promising to protect consumers’ privacy.
“Hims was only able to create audiences with such specificity because it flouted the promises it made to its users about treating their medical conditions ‘privately’ or keeping their health information private,” the FTC said.
Hims & Hers, which was founded in 2017 and is publicly listed, allows users to connect virtually with health care providers and get prescription drugs for sexual wellness, weight loss and other issues. The company’s shares fell nearly 15% on Wednesday.
Hims & Hers dismissed the allegations regarding its practices as “baseless” and vowed to defend itself in court.
“Our customers have the information they need to make informed decisions about their care and the use of our services,” the San Francisco-based company said in a statement on social media. “And our Privacy Policy makes clear that they may choose how their data is used, and that information patients share with their healthcare providers is used only in providing care.”
The FTC alleged that Hims & Hers disclosed user information through tracking technologies “offered by Meta” that monitor people’s actions on its website and by sharing lists of some customers with third parties. The health service also shared information with other advertising platforms, according to the consumer protection agency.
The FTC also accused Hims & Hers of failing to clearly disclose when consumers are charged for prescriptions purchased through the service and making it difficult for users to cancel subscriptions.
“The FTC’s complaint lays out a troubling scenario — consumers unknowingly locked into recurring subscriptions and the disclosure to third parties of consumers’ most private health information without their consent,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.
