Cerebral has agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $7 million due to the telemedicine company sharing consumers' private health information and other sensitive data with advertisers without permission.
Alongside the $7 million, the FTC is requiring Cerebral to commit to an order that limits how the company can use or share sensitive consumer data and make sure the company offers an easy way for customers to cancel their services.
The order, according to an April 15 news release from the FTC, must be approved by the court before it goes into effect.
This comes after Cerebral and its former CEO, Kyle Robertson, faced a complaint that alleged that the company broke its privacy promises to its consumers and misled them about its cancellation policies.
According to the FTC news release, Cerebral promised people safe and private services to convince them to join and share their personal information. But the complaint said Cerebral did not make it clear that it would be sharing consumers' data with platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok.
Cerebral will pay $5.1 million to give some money back to customers affected by the company's cancellation methods. In addition, the company was required to pay a $10 million fine, but it will pay only $2 million because it cannot afford the whole penalty, according to the release.
The company is also permanently banned from using or disclosing consumers' health information to third parties for marketing and advertising purposes.