Your Hims “sexual wellness” pill order information was shared with Meta, the FTC says.

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by California and Utah, has filed a lawsuit against telehealth provider Hims & Hers Inc., alleging that the company promised consumers a private and confidential health care experience while sharing sensitive health information with advertising platforms including Meta and Snap.

the complaintfiled Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Hims told consumers that its services were “100% online, private and secure,” and that medical records and sensitive health information would only be accessed by the health care providers managing their care. Regulators allege that the company instead disclosed consumers’ health information to third-party advertising platforms without clearly informing users.

“The FTC’s complaint presents a troubling scenario, namely that consumers are inadvertently restricted from recurring subscriptions and the disclosure to third parties of most consumers’ private health information without their consent,” Christopher Mouvrage, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “The FTC will not hesitate to act on behalf of consumers who are deprived of their ability to choose which products they want and whether they want to keep their most sensitive health information private.”

According to complaintHims used Meta Pixel, Meta Conversions API, and other tracking technologies from Google, Microsoft, Reddit, TikTok, Pinterest, X, and other advertising partners to transmit information about users’ activity on its platforms.

Hims & Hers, a publicly traded company, provides prescription medications for various conditions, but is perhaps best known for its “sexual wellness” line. The FTC says the company’s practices affected consumers seeking treatment for conditions including erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, mental health disorders, hair loss and weight loss. The complaint alleges that Hims promoted privacy through its website, television and radio ads, and podcasts, as well as influencer campaigns describing its services as “private” and “secret.”

“As with the Meta and Snap pixels, many of these pixels captured users’ health information and shared it via similar pixel tracking events that were captured (redacted) — all of which was contrary to the privacy promises made by Hims,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit also accuses Hims and Hers Inc. of… Deceptive subscription practices.

According to the complaint, the company advertised “free consultations” and told consumers they could decide if the treatment was right for them before purchasing the drug. Regulators allege that many consumers were automatically charged and enrolled in recurring prescription subscriptions immediately after a provider reviewed their medication intake form, without an opportunity to review or approve the treatment. The lawsuit also alleges that Hims failed to clearly disclose refill dates and made subscriptions difficult to cancel by hiding cancellation options behind multiple menus and retention screens.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, the Online Shopper’s Trust Restoration Act, California’s False Advertising and Unfair Competition Law, and the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act. The FTC and its state partners are seeking a permanent injunction, monetary relief, civil penalties, and other remedies.

“The Commission files a complaint when it has ‘reason to believe’ that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law, and it appears to the Commission that the action is in the public interest,” the FTC wrote. “The case will be decided by the court.”

Hims & Hers did not immediately respond to a request for comment Decryption.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of FTC actions targeting companies over privacy, deceptive marketing and consumer protections.

In 2022, Epic Games agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations that it violated children’s privacy laws. The agency has also increasingly focused on artificial intelligence, warning that AI can “TurbochargerFraud and deceptive practices, while taking enforcement action against the companies accused of this exaggeration Their artificial intelligence capabilities.

As recently as May, the Federal Trade Commission reached approx 1 million dollars Settles with Cox Media Group and two marketing companies over allegations that they falsely advertised an artificial intelligence-powered service that can target ads by listening to consumers’ conversations through smart devices.