Judge refuses to let Meta and Google off the hook in GoodRx health data sharing lawsuit

GoodRx class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A California federal judge has refused to dismiss claims against Meta, Google and Criteo in a GoodRx class action lawsuit.
• Why: The judge said the GoodRx class action lawsuit contained enough allegations to survive the motion to dismiss.
• Where: The GoodRx class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

A California federal judge has refused to dismiss claims that GoodRx Holdings Inc. shared users’ private health data with Meta Platforms Inc., Google LLC and Criteo Corp.

Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin denied the tech companies’ motion to dismiss the class action on July 22, finding that the plaintiffs’ claims were sufficiently detailed to survive the pleading stage.

The plaintiffs, a group of consumers who used GoodRx’s services, allege the company shared their sensitive health data with Meta, Google and Criteo for advertising purposes without their consent.

The consumers claim GoodRx’s privacy policies promised not to share their health information with third parties, but the company allegedly incorporated tracking technologies from the tech giants on its platform.

The plaintiffs argue that GoodRx’s actions violated their privacy rights and various state and federal laws.

GoodRx settled for $1.5M and $25M last year

The lawsuit was filed in February 2023, shortly after the Federal Trade Commission announced a $1.5 million penalty with GoodRx over similar allegations. The FTC alleged GoodRx repeatedly violated its promises to keep users’ health data private and failed to notify consumers about the unauthorized disclosures.

GoodRx then agreed to pay a $25 million settlement to resolve the class action lawsuit in November 2024, but the settlement did not include Meta, Google or Criteo.

The tech companies argued the plaintiffs failed to provide enough specific allegations about how their tracking technologies worked and that they could not plausibly plead intent because Meta and Google’s policies instructed developers not to send protected health information.

However, Judge Martinez-Olguin rejected these arguments, stating that the plaintiffs were not required to allege details about the tools that only the defendants would possess at this stage.

The judge also found that the disclosures in GoodRx and Meta’s terms were not enough to establish consent, as a reasonable user could believe they were not consenting to the sharing and interception of sensitive medical information.

However, the judge did dismiss two claims alleging violations of the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, finding that the plaintiffs failed to adequately defend them.

What do you think of the allegations made against GoodRx? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Christian Levis, Amanda Fiorilla and Rachel Kesten of Lowey Dannenberg PC, L. Timothy Fisher and Jenna Gavenman of Bursor & Fisher PA, Robert C. Schubert, Willem F. Jonckheer and Amber L. Schubert of Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP, Mark L. Javitch of Javitch Law Office, Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr. of Zimmerman Law Offices PC, Israel David and Blake Hunter Yagman of Israel David LLC, Rebecca Hoberg of The Moya Law Firm, and Jonathan Shub, Benjamin F. Johns and Samantha E. Holbrook of Shub Johns & Holbrook LLP.

Google is represented by Benedict Hur, Simona Agnolucci, Eduardo Santacana, Tiffany Lin and Alice Chi of Cooley LLP.

Meta is represented by Lauren Goldman, Darcy C. Harris, Elizabeth K. McCloskey and Abbey A. Barrera of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Criteo is represented by Tenaya Rodewald, Thomas Dillickrath and Sarah A. K. Blitz of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

The GoodRx class action lawsuit is Jane Doe et al. v. GoodRx Holdings Inc. et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-00501, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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