Consumer protection: FTC and states sue Hims & Hers over privacy

The news: The Federal Trade Commission, joined by Utah and by California through the Los Angeles County Counsel, sued telehealth provider Hims & Hers on July 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint alleges that the San Francisco-based company shared consumers’ sensitive health information with advertising platforms despite promising privacy, charged people almost immediately after they submitted an intake form, and made subscriptions hard to cancel. The Commission vote authorizing the filing was 2-0. As with all such filings, the allegations are unproven, and the court will decide the case.

Why it matters: The case touches three things households deal with constantly: medical privacy, recurring charges and the difficulty of ending a subscription. According to the complaint, consumers who filled out an online intake form were asked for billing details after being told they would not be charged unless medication was prescribed. The FTC alleges most were never given a consultation with a provider and were instead charged and enrolled in a recurring plan shortly after submitting the form.

On cancellation, the agency says that before 2023 most consumers could only cancel by contacting customer service by phone, email or chat. After online cancellation was introduced for most customers in 2023, the complaint says the cancel button stayed hidden until a user chose an option to “add/remove items from order” and clicked through several steps. It also alleges the company did not clearly say when monthly refills would be billed, making it hard to cancel in time.

By the numbers:

• 3 plaintiffs: the FTC, Utah and California (through Los Angeles County Counsel)
• 2023: the year online cancellation was introduced for most consumers, per the complaint
• 2-0: the Commission vote to authorize the complaint

The big picture: On privacy, the FTC alleges that Hims & Hers shared lists of certain customers with Meta, Snap and other third parties, and that tracking technologies on its website passed along visitors’ actions to those companies. The agency says these practices violate the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, which governs online billing and subscriptions. Utah cites its Consumer Sales Practices Act, and California cites its False Advertising and Unfair Competition Laws.

Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, described consumers as “unknowingly locked into recurring subscriptions” with their most private health information disclosed without consent.

What’s next: The case will proceed in the Northern District of California, where the court, not the FTC, will decide the outcome. Anyone with a telehealth or other subscription can check their statements for charges they did not expect and look for the cancellation steps before they sign up.