Up to $190 billion in damages. Wow.

Up to $190 billion in damages. Wow.

Meta doesn't exactly have a stellar track record on privacy (remember Cambridge Analytica?), but this goes beyond that. Now we're talking about trust in sensitive medical data.

In a nutshell, several users of the massively popular period-tracking app from Flo Health Inc. alleged that Flo shared their health data with Meta for targeted advertising purposes. Flo recently settled with the plaintiffs (admitting no wrongdoing in the process), but clearly, the big target here is Meta. With stakes this high, Zuck might have more to worry about than just the astronomical paychecks he's currently handing out to win the AI race.

And for us as consumers and patients, it's a timely reminder to treat our health data carefully. Recently, it emerged that some ChatGPT conversations (shared via link) were indexed by Google if you had ticked the wrong box in the settings. Sam Altman has also acknowledged that ChatGPT chats are not protected by physician‑patient privilege or legal confidentiality, meaning any stored exchanges could potentially be subpoenaed in litigation.