Costco faces lawsuit over alleged sharing of health data

A lawsuit has been filed against Costco that alleges the warehouse club company shared customers' protected health information with Facebook parent company Meta, The Seattle Times reported Oct. 9. 

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 6 in Washington Western District Court, alleges that Costco installed Meta Pixel technology on the healthcare portion of its website that allowed Meta to gain access to consumer's personal and health information. 

"Costco represents to patients that its website, which includes its pharmacy webpages, is a secure platform," the suit, which is seeking class-action status, reads. "Yet, Costco fails to disclose or omits the fact that it shares patient online activities and personal health information with Meta via Pixel."

Patrick Callans, executive vice president of administration of Costco, said the company cannot comment on pending litigation. 

According to the publication, the retailer has not filed an answer in court.

Meanwhile, Meta, which is not named as a defendant in the suit, told The Seattle Times it educates advertisers on how to properly set up business tools to prevent sensitive information from being retrieved. 

The lawsuit comes shortly after the retailer announced it would be offering customers $29 virtual primary care visits through a partnership with healthcare marketplace Sesame. 

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars