Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Must Defend Against Allegations Of Medical Privacy Breaches

Meta Platforms Inc. META has been ordered by a U.S. District Judge to face a class action lawsuit. The litigation alleges that the tech giant has violated medical privacy rules.

What Happened: On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick allowed plaintiffs to pursue claims that Meta broke a federal wiretap law, a California privacy statute, and its contract terms related to user privacy on Facebook, reported Reuters. 

The lawsuit revolves around accusations that Meta’s tracking tool, Meta Pixel, captured and relayed confidential healthcare data. 

The complainants, who remain anonymous, asserted that the tech giant was privy to sensitive health information when they accessed patient portals that had Meta Pixel installed. This reportedly enabled Meta to profit from targeted advertising.

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Although the judge dismissed some claims, plaintiffs were allowed to refile them. 

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount for all Facebook users whose health data was gathered by the Mark Zuckerberg-led company. The legal proceedings started in June 2020 when it was revealed that a minimum of 664 healthcare providers were using Meta Pixel.

At the time, while seeking dismissal, Meta said that though transmitting sensitive health data could be problematic, there was nothing inherently illegal or harmful about its technology. 

The company argued that the usage of Meta Pixel was at the discretion of the healthcare providers.

However, Judge Orrick challenged this response, stating uncertainty over whether Meta took adequate steps to prevent the transmission of patient details or if the tech giant could be exonerated because healthcare providers had consented.

Why It Matters: This case adds to the growing concerns over handling sensitive health data by tech companies. In March earlier this year, health startup Cerebral faced backlash for sharing the private data of over 3.1 million U.S. patients with tech giants, including Meta.

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