A California jury found Meta guilty of illegally using reproductive health data from Flo Health for targeted ads, violating state privacy laws.
The lawsuit revealed Flo Health shared user data with Meta from 2016 to 2019, breaching its own privacy policy.
Meta plans to appeal the verdict, while co-defendants Google, Flurry, and Flo Health settled earlier.
The decision sets a precedent for handling health data outside traditional healthcare, warning Big Tech of legal consequences.
A California federal jury found Meta liable for illegally harvesting sensitive reproductive health data from the period-tracking app Flo Health and using it for targeted advertising, a direct breach of the state's privacy laws.
Promises, promises: The class-action lawsuit detailed how from 2016 to 2019, Flo shared intimate user data—like menstrual cycle dates and pregnancy goals—with Meta via its software development kit. The practice, first reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2019, directly violated Flo’s own policy which had promised not to transmit personal data without "explicit consent."
Denials and damages: Lead trial attorneys for the plaintiffs called the verdict a "clear message" that companies profiting from intimate user data "must be held accountable." Meta plans to fight the decision, with a spokesperson calling the plaintiffs' claims "simply false" and insisting the company's terms prohibit developers from sending sensitive health information.
Meta faced the jury alone after co-defendants Google, Flurry, and Flo Health itself all previously settled. Flo’s own settlement came at the eleventh hour—just a day before the jury delivered its verdict. The verdict sets a powerful precedent for how health data is handled outside the traditional healthcare system, putting Big Tech on notice that user privacy expectations can carry costly legal consequences.
The case highlights broader issues in the femtech world, where a Mozilla investigation found most reproductive health apps have questionable data-sharing practices. The verdict also lands amid a fierce political battle over abortion access, with data showing a growing reliance on telehealth for services that new laws seek to curtail. Meanwhile, despite its privacy controversies, Flo Health recently secured $200 million in funding, valuing the company at over $1 billion.
