Startups are notoriously bad at keeping our data safe. Cerebral — a telehealth startup that launched into popularity during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic — has shared more than 3.1 million U.S. users' private health information with advertisers and social media platforms including Google, Meta, and TikTok.
In a disclosure first reported by TechCrunch, Cerebral said it used tracking technologies made available by third parties like Google, Meta, and TikTok. It's not uncommon for websites to use these kinds of tracking technologies for advertising and it's not uncommon for those practices to end in data breaches and, yes, even HIPAA violations.
That's just what Cerebral did: After reviewing its use of these technologies and data-sharing practices, the company "determined that it had disclosed certain information that may be regulated as protected health information under HIPAA" to some of those third parties. Cerebral may have accidentally given Google, Meta, and TikTok the personal information of its users such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays, IP addresses, results of their mental health self-assessments, treatments, and other clinical information.
"Upon learning of this issue, Cerebral promptly disabled, reconfigured, and/or removed the Tracking Technologies on Cerebral’s Platforms to prevent any such disclosures in the future and discontinued or disabled data sharing with any Subcontractors not able to meet all HIPAA requirements," Cerebral said in the disclosure. "In addition, we have enhanced our information security practices and technology vetting processes to further mitigate the risk of sharing such information in the future."
The company's notice to customers is not easy to find. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the websitewhere you'll find, in small font: "See herefor more information on the March 2023 HIPAA breach." The social media companies that now have access to this data do not have to delete it, even if the data from Cerebral's breach is supposed to be covered under the U.S. health privacy law HIPAA.
Cerebral is just one of the nearly 50 telehealth startups that shared user data with advertising platforms last year, according to a joint investigation by STAT and The Markup.
TopicsHealthPrivacy
(责任编辑：熱點)
There's a big piece of fake chicken stuck to this phone caseApple's iPhone event: Everything that's been revealedSamsung's Galaxy Note 10 is the perfect for phone for lefties
Yes, people actually showed up to the Area 51 music festivalUber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enoughDarth Vader is back. Why do we still care?
They saved the best for last in the first official trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, release
...[详细]VMAs host opens with safe space jokes, and bombs hard
The 2018 VMAs didn't have a host, and ten minutes into the 2019 VMAs, fans were wishing this year's
...[详细]Bluetooth is bad and you should stop using it
Everyone uses Bluetooth. Perhaps they shouldn't.The technology that we've come to rely on to connect
...[详细]When did Google become stingy like Apple?
At Apple hardware events, it's almost become a ritual: The company shows off new, pricy gadgets whic
...[详细]This chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jump
American gymnast Simone Biles has dominated the Rio Olympics with five medals (four of them gold) bu
...[详细]Apple's iPhone event: Everything that's been revealed
Apple's big iPhone event took place today at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, and we
...[详细]Oxford English Dictionary gets a major Star Wars update
The Force is strong with the Oxford English Dictionary. That's thanks to an update to its list of wo
...[详细]Forget Windows Phone. Microsoft just revealed a dual
Microsoft shocked the crowd at its big hardware event Wednesday by revealing a dual-screen Android p
...[详细]Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape
Nate Parker is getting a crash course in male privilege after, in his own words, not thinking about
...[详细]4 climate change apps every tech
As part of the 2019 Social Good Summit on Sept. 22, Mashable is tackling the climate change problem
...[详细]Teacher absolutely nails it with new homework policy
Apple Arcade goes live early for some iOS 13 beta users
