Washington – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken legal action against telehealth pioneer Hims & Hers, accusing the company of sharing customers’ health information with advertising platforms and automatically enrolling users in recurring prescription plans that are difficult to cancel. The complaint says the practices violate U.S. consumer‑protection laws.
What the FTC alleges
According to the FTC filing, Hims & Hers automatically enrolled customers in ongoing prescription services and billed them without giving a clear opportunity to review the recommended treatment. The agency also alleges that the company disclosed users’ medical data to third‑party platforms such as Meta and Google, despite promising a “100 % online, private and secure” experience.
Other telehealth firms under scrutiny
The lawsuit follows similar actions the FTC has taken against more than half a dozen telehealth providers, including online therapy service BetterHelp and pharmacy‑discount app GoodRx. In those cases, regulators said the companies shared health data with online platforms without obtaining explicit permission from users.
Industry practices raise concerns
Researchers have documented a pattern across the telehealth sector of minimal real‑time interaction with physicians. A recent study of nearly 50 companies selling GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs found that fewer than one‑third required a live video or audio consultation before issuing a prescription. In many instances, prescriptions were approved within minutes, and the medication was automatically sent to the patient.
Dr. Reshma Ramachandran of Yale University, who led the study, warned that the lack of a real‑time conversation often means patients miss essential counseling about weight‑loss goals, prior attempts, and potential eating‑disorder risks. The study also found that only a little more than half of the examined websites asked about eating disorders on their intake questionnaires.
Why HIPAA does not protect many telehealth users
Many Americans assume that any personal health information they share online is covered by HIPAA, the federal privacy law that governs medical records. However, HIPAA applies primarily to traditional health‑care providers such as doctors’ offices, hospitals, and insurers. It does not extend to most direct‑to‑consumer telehealth platforms that offer prescriptions, counseling, DNA testing, or other services.
“There isn’t a clear federal law saying ‘Don’t do this,’” said Justin Brookman, director of technology policy at Consumer Reports. “There’s just a body of soft law and settled cases with the FTC that many companies probably aren’t even aware of.”
Regulatory limits and state actions
The FTC’s authority allows it to pursue “fraudulent, deceptive or unethical business methods” when a company’s conduct harms consumers. In practice, the agency often secures agreements that require firms to stop the cited practices, though penalties can be modest.
Several states—including California, Connecticut, and Maryland—have enacted new privacy statutes that provide additional safeguards for health information. Enforcement of those laws against telehealth providers, however, remains limited.
Protecting your data
Privacy experts recommend practical steps for consumers who choose to use telehealth services. Using ad blockers or private‑browsing modes can make it harder for companies to track location and browsing history. Reading user agreements carefully can reveal whether a platform reserves the right to sell data about sensitive topics, such as sexual health.
Ultimately, the most reliable way to protect personal information may be to decline the terms of service altogether, though doing so can prevent access to the telehealth service.
“The system we have now overly burdens consumers to do a ton of work in terms of understanding how each piece of technology collecting their personal data is going to handle it,” said Andrew Crawford, an attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology. “Even if you do all that work, you often have little agency.”
Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.
