Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are questioning why California’s state health insurance exchange, Covered California, shared sensitive health data with LinkedIn. A letter sent to the exchange’s executive director, Jessica Altman, expresses “deep concern” over the sharing of personal information such as health conditions and demographics.
An investigation by The Markup and CalMatters found that the exchange used trackers that sent this information to LinkedIn, despite the tech company prohibiting its use for advertising purposes. The trackers logged data on blindness, pregnancy, and prescription medication use, as well as whether visitors were transgender or victims of domestic violence.
The letter from lawmakers demands answers on how such data was transmitted, what oversight existed, and if Covered California took adequate steps to protect consumer information. They also expressed concern over the adequacy of safeguards in place, citing federal privacy standards including HIPAA.
Covered California has paused its use of trackers entirely while a review of practices is underway. The organization claims to have inadvertently shared data and instituted a review. A proposed class-action lawsuit against LinkedIn and Google was filed after the investigation.
Further investigations by The Markup and CalMatters found that four other state exchanges also shared information with tech companies as part of their “Pixel Hunt” series, examining unexpected ways websites share data. Covered California plans to respond to the lawmakers’ questions by July 1st.
Source: https://smdp.com/news/house-lawmakers-demand-answers-from-covered-california-on-sending-data-to-linkedin