Meta Finds Lawsuit For Medical Privacy Violations In The United States

Meta Platforms Inc., faces a lawsuit that violates patient medical privacy (photo: Twitter @meta)

JAKARTA - A US federal judge stated that Meta Platforms Inc., must face a lawsuit that says the company has violated the medical privacy of hospitalized patients and other healthcare providers using Meta Pixel tracking devices.

US District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco said plaintiffs could pursue claims that Meta violated California's federal surveillance laws and privacy laws and violated his own contract promises regarding user privacy on Facebook.

In a 26-page decision on Thursday, September 7, the judge said that the case, based on the available evidence so far, "does not eliminate the possible claim that sensitive health information was deliberately retrieved and sent to Meta."

Orrick threw away several other claims but said that the plaintiffs, all of whom used John Doe or Jane Do, could try to re-claim.

According to the plaintiffs, Meta Pixel provided sensitive information about their health to Meta when they entered the patient's portal, where tracking tools had been installed, enabling Meta to make money from targeted ads.

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified compensation for all Facebook users whose health information was obtained by Meta.

Neither Meta nor the company's lawyers based in Menlo Park, California, made immediate comments on Friday 8 September at a similar request for comment. Plaintiffs' lawyers also did not immediately respond to similar requests.

When litigation began in June 2020, lawyers from one of the plaintiffs said they had found at least 664 hospitals and other health care providers using Meta Pixel.

In an attempt to get the removal, Meta said it "disagreed" that sending sensitive health information could be a serious problem.

But they also say that nothing inherently harms or violates the law about their technology, and that it's up to health care providers to decide how to use Meta Pixel.

However, Orrick said it was unclear whether Meta had enough to stop the delivery of patient details, or maybe it could be excluded because healthcare providers actually gave approval for that.

He also found "detailed and reasonable claims" that the delivery of the information was needed for Meta advertising services.