Meta Sued Over Claims Patient Data Secretly Sent to Facebook

(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. was sued Friday over claims that private medical data is being shared secretly with Facebook when patients access web portals for health-care providers.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed in San Francisco federal court. It alleges Facebook’s Pixel tracking tool redirects patient communications and other “secure” information without authorization.

The plaintiff, who wasn’t identified, seeks compensatory and punitive damages, according to the suit.

The Markup, a non-profit news organization, reported Thursday that at least 33 hospitals use the Facebook tracking tool, which the report alleged may violate federal health information privacy laws.

The case is John Doe v. Meta Platforms, 3:22-cv-3580, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).