LinkedIn and Google now facing lawsuit alleging improper access to health data

FILE A Covered California sign Adriana Heldiz CalMatters One day after an probe by CalMatters and The Markup LinkedIn and Google were hit with a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging they improperly received confidential details from trackers on California s wellbeing insurance exchange website A California congressman citing the analysis then called on the federal Robustness and Human Services Department to investigate the exchange s sharing of facts to LinkedIn In the article published this week CalMatters and The Markup revealed how trackers on the website coveredca com sent information on visitors to LinkedIn through a tool called the Insight Tag As visitors filled out forms on the site the trackers sent LinkedIn information about them including whether they were pregnant blind transgender or had experienced domestic abuse The trackers also monitored information on visitors searches for curative providers and how often those visitors used prescription drugs The cabinet entity that operates the exchange Covered California has since removed the trackers A spokesperson announced they had been used as part of an advertising campaign that began in February The lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California cites forensic testing by CalMatters and The Markup as well as research by the plaintiff to allege that LinkedIn and Google received strength facts from web trackers on coveredca com without the knowledge or consent of users The plaintiff in the suit is an anonymous California woman who alleges she filled out information on Covered California around June of last year and had that information sent to LinkedIn and Google A proposed class action the lawsuit seeks to represent everyone who had information transmitted to the tech companies by Covered California The firm representing her Bursor and Fisher has a speciality in class-action suits including in information privacy and touts receiving a million settlement from Google for alleged privacy violations in LinkedIn and Google intentionally intercepted sensitive and confidential communications between Covered California and its customers the suit which seeks to represent others similarly situated reads LinkedIn and Google failed to receive consent for these interceptions The suit alleges that the tracking runs afoul of California and federal laws including the California Invasion of Privacy Act which requires consent before communications can be sent to third parties The companies made similar violations under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act according to the suit Google did not promptly respond to requests for comment A LinkedIn spokesperson referred to the company s previous declaration saying that its policies expressly prohibit customers from installing the Insight Tag on web pages that collect or contain sensitive records including pages offering health-related services Millions of people in the state have received coverage through Covered California set up under the Affordable Care Act as a way for Californians to hurriedly and easily shop for insurance and compare plans In a comment posted online after publication of the CalMatters and Markup story the organization commented it was reviewing the nature and extent of sensitive consumer material and information that was inadvertently shared with LinkedIn Since the tracking was revealed the story has also drawn the attention of lawmakers Rep Kevin Kiley who called the sharing of input incredibly disturbing sent a letter to the Department of Physical condition and Human Services asking it to investigate whether the tracking may have violated privacy laws like the Fitness Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Kiley is a Republican whose California district stretches from suburban Sacramento to Death Valley Among other questions the letter asks the agency to determine how a large number of people were affected by the tracking and how something like this can be prevented in the future CalMatters is a society interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California s state Capitol works and why it matters