Why is this important?
BetterHelp, a popular online therapy app, has been caught sharing user data with third party advertisers and then lying about it. Add your name to our comment to tell the FTC: we need the bad behavior to end.
Therapy can be transformational, but it needs to be a safe space built on trust.
For years, BetterHelp, an online counseling app with hundreds of thousands of users, betrayed this fundamental trust by sharing user data—including history of depression and whether users were taking any medications—with social media companies for ad targeting.
The Federal Trade Commission has ordered BetterHelp to stop sharing customers’ mental health information with third parties and stop misrepresenting its data collection policies– but this order is only a draft.1 The FTC closes comments on April 13th, so we have to act right now to make sure BetterHelp never dishonestly shares personal user health data again.
Even after their data sharing was exposed, BetterHelp intentionally deceived people seeking therapy about their unethical practices. They gave customer service agents fake scripts alleging that they did not share user data and placed an unregistered HIPAA logo on their website to give a false impression of compliance.2 This kind of behavior is so hurtful to users' confidence in the care they seek.
Services like BetterHelp could help make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable at a time when many people need it. But we must be able to trust them to treat our most private health information with confidentiality.
Join us to tell the FTC: BetterHelp must be held accountable, and the FTC must remain vigilant against user data misuse.
Read the comment below:
To whom it may concern,
We are concerned users of BetterHelp and advocates for technology that works for people, writing as subscribers to Kairos, an organization working at the intersection of technology, democracy, and racial justice. We are invested in this issue as people who believe that our data should not be monetized, and that technology companies must do right by their customers– whether through their own ethical choices or better regulation.
We appreciate that the FTC is treating BetterHelp’s privacy issues with the seriousness they deserve. From sharing user data, to lying about their practices, and even going so far as to fake HIPAA compliance, BetterHelp’s actions are inexcusable.
This is why we support the FTC’s proposed consent order, including the financial compensation of users wronged by their practices, the stipulation that they not share data again, and the requirements for data sharing transparency moving forward.
As the FTC has noted in the past, health data such as those collected by BetterHelp and other health apps is very sensitive and should not be monetized or shared with third parties.1 Health apps must take their roles as medical providers seriously if they continue to offer these services.
We urge the FTC to be steadfast in ensuring that the consent order is followed and we hope future data privacy breaches will be similarly addressed.
Sincerely,
Add your name
Sources
1. “FTC to Ban BetterHelp from Revealing Consumers’ Data, Including Sensitive Mental Health Information, to Facebook and Others for Targeted Advertising.” Federal Trade Commission, Mar. 2, 2023.
2. “BetterHelp shared customer data while promising it was private, says FTC.” The Verge, Mar. 2, 2023.
