Hospitals Sued for Using Meta’s Ad-Tracking Code, Violating HIPAA

1 year ago AndyC

Two
hospital
networks
in
Louisiana
are
being
hauled
to
court
in
a
pair
of
class-action
lawsuits
that
accuses
the
hospitals
of
deploying
Meta
Pixel
ad-tracker
code
and
sharing
sensitive
medical
data

Two
hospital
networks
in
Louisiana
are
being
hauled
to
court
in
a
pair
of
class-action
lawsuits
that
accuses
the
hospitals
of
deploying
Meta
Pixel
ad-tracker
code
and
sharing
sensitive
medical
data
with
Facebook
in
violation
of
the
US
Health
Insurance
Portability
and
Accountability
Act
(HIPAA).

LCMC
Health
Systems
and
Willis-Knighton
Health
Systems
are
being
accused
of
deploying
the
Meta
Pixel
code
on
their
sites,
which
shared
information
with
Facebook
—
including
medical
conditions,
prescriptions,
doctors’
names,
and
prior
appointment
history
—
so
patients
could
be
targeted
for
advertising,
according
to
the
law
firm
behind
the
action,
Herman
Herman
&
Katz.

“We
are
learning
more
and
more
about
this
shocking
breach
of
trust
as
our
investigation
continues,”
Herman
Herman
&
Katz
partner
Stephen
Herman
said

in
a
statement
about
the

data
privacy
lawsuits.
“This
was
a
gross
invasion
of
privacy
that
went
on
for
years.”

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About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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