The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, together with the states of California and Utah, has filed a lawsuit against telehealth company Hims & Hers, alleging that it unlawfully disclosed consumers' sensitive health information to advertising platforms and engaged in deceptive billing and subscription practices.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges violations of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. California has also alleged violations of its false advertising and unfair competition laws, while Utah has claimed violations of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act. The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction, monetary relief, restitution, civil penalties and other relief, although no specific monetary amount has been requested.
According to the complaint, Hims & Hers led consumers to believe they could receive a free consultation and review a healthcare provider's recommendation before deciding whether to purchase treatment. Instead, the FTC alleges that many consumers were charged and automatically enrolled in recurring prescription subscriptions shortly after submitting their online intake forms, with limited opportunity to review or approve recommended treatments before payment.
The complaint further alleges that the company did not clearly disclose the timing of recurring refill charges and made cancellations unnecessarily difficult. Before April 2023, customers were generally required to contact customer service by phone, email or chat to cancel. After introducing an online cancellation process, the FTC claims the option remained difficult to locate and required users to navigate multiple screens.
The lawsuit also focuses on Hims & Hers' handling of customer data. Regulators allege the company shared customer information and online activity with advertising platforms including Meta, Snap, Google, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit and TikTok through tracking technologies such as Meta Pixel and Meta's Conversions API.
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, "The FTC's complaint lays out a troubling scenario – consumers unknowingly locked into recurring subscriptions."
Hims & Hers rejected the allegations, stating, "This lawsuit … ignores established state laws and industry standards in telehealth, and contorts the law to try to manufacture claims." The company added, "This is not enforcement grounded in consumer protection; it is an effort to generate headlines at our expense. We are confident in our position and will vigorously defend ourselves against these baseless claims." It also said customers are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions and can choose how their data are used under its privacy policy.
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