back to article FTC prescribes GoodRx a $1.5m pill after 'sharing health info' with web giants

GoodRx will cough up $1.5 million to settle claims it shared people's health information with Facebook, Google, and other third parties. According to America's Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the discount prescription drug app broke the watchdog's Health Breach Notification Rule by breaking a promise to not share personal …

  1. Someone Else Silver badge

    Lemmings

    GoodRx, in a statement, maintained that it was in compliance with the law and that its use of Facebook et al's technology on its pages "remains common practice among many health, consumer and government websites."

    Well, of course! That justifies everything, don't it? "Hey, a bunch of guys, even famous guys have robbed banks, yer honor. So of course I should be allowed to do so, too! What? It's against the law? Tosh!"

    I recall a statement my Mom used to say...something along the lines of, "If Johnny jumped off a cliff, would you?"

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well, what do you know.

    I received one of their discount cards in the mail a few months ago, and tossed it since it felt like some kind of scam, although I wasn't sure what kind of scam it was.

    Now I know what kind of scam it was.

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Mushroom

    And here we go again

    "We do not agree with the FTC's allegations and we admit no wrongdoing," the company added. "Entering into the settlement allows us to avoid the time and expense of protracted litigation."

    Point #1 : You don't need to agree. I'm convinced that every criminal ever arrested by the police disagreed with being arrested. It doesn't matter.

    Point #2 : So you admit no wrongdoing ? Doesn't matter either, since you're essentially paying the fine. We know you're guilty.

    Point #3 : You're settling because you're guilty and you just want to cut to the chase in order to minimize the impact on the shareholders.

    Bottom line : you're guilty as fuck.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sold private health data after promising customers not to?

    Seems like there should be an extra digit or two on that fine. So what that they didn't turn a profit; intentionally violating both the law and your own terms of service should result in a fine that's an existential threat!

    1. Brian 3

      Re: Sold private health data after promising customers not to?

      and the fine should extend to the company officers personally as well as anyone involved in negotiating the deal in the first place. It needs to stop being okay to build corporations with the specific intent to break existing laws or circumvent regulations using flimsy arguments.

  5. jake Silver badge

    "Entering into the settlement allows us to avoid the time and expense of protracted litigation."

    Just a cost of doing business, then?

    Add me to the list of folks who junked their snail-mail offering as trash, and probably a scam.

  6. cream wobbly

    they should rebrand as BadTx

    Good Receiver / Bad Transmitter

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So GoodRx will go out of business then?

    Since hoovering up users’ health info and selling it seems to be the only way they make any money.

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