STATFeb 7, 2023

We and @themarkup found major telehealth startups sharing users’ sensitive info with advertising platforms.

A bipartisan group of senators is calling out several of them for failing to protect users’ health info—and demanding answers about what happened: https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/07/telehealth-privacy-cerebral-workit-monument-data-congress/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon_organic

Senators probe telehealth companies for tracking and monetizing sensitive health data

Exclusive: A bipartisan group of senators fiercely criticized several prominent telehealth startups for failing to protect sensitive health information, citing an investigation by STAT and The Markup.

STAT
Show threadLeRoy WesterlingFeb 11, 2023
@STAT @themarkup @nedhamson when I was recovering from my cancer surgery in 2015-16, I could not go online without being subjected to endless advertisements about my cancer, designed to create anxiety that would induce me to spend $. It was clearly targeted, and it was pervasive across web platforms. It’s disgusting. A gross, unethical invasion of privacy and attempted manipulation.
Show threadThe Markup
@LeRoyWesterling @STAT @nedhamson Wow. So sorry you experienced that, that's one of the worries experts pointed out to us most often—that patients would be targeted with ads for treatments that are unnecessary or even harmful. Not to mention the emotional impact. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Feb 12, 2023 at 2:50pmWeb
Show threadLeRoy WesterlingFeb 12, 2023
@themarkup @STAT @nedhamson yes, having a nephrectomy for an otherwise untreatable, highly malignant tumor and then having every web page you go to have sponsored content like “top ten signs of metastatic kidney cancer” is not cute.