United States of America: Issued FTC final approval to order banning BetterHelp from sharing consumers’ health data including a USD 7.8 million fine

On 14 July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalised an order prohibiting BetterHelp, an online counselling service, from sharing consumers' health data with third parties for advertising purposes. Furthermore, the FTC imposed a fine of UDS 7.8 million on the company. Additionally, the order prohibits BetterHelp from sharing consumers’ personal information for re-targeting and requires the company to obtain explicit consent before disclosing data to third parties. Finally, the order requires BetterHelp to implement a comprehensive privacy program with strong safeguards to protect consumer data, direct third parties to delete the consumer health and other personal data that BetterHelp disclosed to them, and limit retention periods according to a data retention schedule.