HeritageValley.org Visitors’ Personal Data Secretly Passed to Facebook, Class Action Says

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action lawsuit claims Heritage Valley Health System, Inc. has secretly shared website visitors’ personal data with Meta (formerly Facebook) without consent.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

According to the 35-page suit, from July 2018 until at least May 2023, Heritage Valley’s website utilized a Meta pixel, which is a piece of code that businesses can embed into their websites to enable Facebook to track users’ data and activity in real time as they interact with the pages. Per the case, the tracking tool transmits the harvested information back to Facebook, where it is compiled and used for targeted advertising.

The complaint alleges that, by making use of the Meta pixel, the Pennsylvania-based healthcare network has secretly disclosed to Facebook its patients’ every interaction with HeritageValley.org, including details about their healthcare providers, service locations, conditions and treatments they researched, IP addresses, geographic locations, Facebook IDs and more.

Importantly, by sharing a visitor’s Facebook ID—a unique identifier that can be used to pinpoint an individual's Facebook profile—Heritage Valley thereby supplies enough information to link a patient’s identity to their online activity and preferences, the filing explains.

“[Heritage Valley’s] actions constitute a reckless disregard for the privacy of its patients’ [protected health information] and its duties as a healthcare provider, an extreme invasion of Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ right to privacy, and violation of Pennsylvania statutory and common law,” the lawsuit charges.

The plaintiff, a Pennsylvania resident and long-time Heritage Valley patient, has used the website in the past to browse for medical providers, facilities and services, the suit says. Like other users, the woman did not consent to any transmission of her personal information to an unauthorized third party, the case shares. Nevertheless, Heritage Valley “intentionally and knowingly” disclosed this confidential data to Facebook, the complaint claims.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States whose personal information was collected through the use of the Meta pixel embedded on HeritageValley.org.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.