Wisconsin Joins Federal Privacy Lawsuit Against Hims And Hers
AG Josh Kaul says telehealth giant shared sensitive health data and misled customers on subscriptions.
Speaking at a violence prevention press conference
Photo taken Oct. 13, 2021 by Jeramey Jannene. All Rights Reserved.
Wisconsin is joining a federal lawsuit against the telehealth provider Hims & Hers Health, which offers widely advertised direct-to-consumer treatments for hair loss, weight loss and erectile dysfunction.
Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Friday that the state was joining the case along with the Federal Trade Commission and six other states.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Hims shared customers’ sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms.
“Folks should be able to rely on representations that their privacy will be protected,” Kaul said in a statement. “And it’s particularly important that they be able to do so with respect to sensitive information about their health.”
According to the amended complaint, the company shared customer health information with social media companies Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and the owner of Snapchat.
The company also allegedly failed to tell customers that it would charge for prescriptions almost immediately after they submitted an intake form, made it difficult to cancel subscriptions and violated state laws in Wisconsin and the other states in the suit.
In a July statement responding to the FTC’s initial lawsuit, Hims said the suit was not “grounded in consumer protection” and called it “an effort to generate headlines at our expense.” The company said it was confident in its position and would defend itself against “these baseless claims.”
“Our customers have the information they need to make informed decisions about their care and the use of our services,” the statement read. “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.”
Wisconsin is seeking a permanent injunction against Hims, as well as restitution for affected customers. Other states in the suit include Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Utah.
Wisconsin joins federal lawsuit against Hims & Hers telehealth provider was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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