Rx Coupon Company Fined $1.5 Million

A leading online pharmaceutical discount company recently responded to a first-of-its-kind disciplinary civil action by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC alleged GoodRx was unauthorized when it shared health information with Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, as well as other digital firms.

The FTC issued a $1.5 million fine as an enforcement action.

The FTC issued a policy statement in September 2021 warning health apps and others that collect or use consumers' health information that they must comply with the Health Breach Notification Rule.

"Digital health companies and mobile apps should not cash in on consumers' extremely sensitive and personally identifiable health information," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a press release.

"The FTC is serving notice that it will use all of its legal authority to protect American consumers' sensitive data from misuse and illegal exploitation." 

On February 1, 2023, GoodRx published the following response:

'GoodRx, protecting our users' privacy is one of our most important priorities. Therefore, we are thoughtful and disciplined about what information we gather and how and why we use it.

The settlement with the FTC focuses on an old issue that was proactively addressed almost three years ago before the FTC inquiry began.

We do not agree with the FTC's allegations and admit no wrongdoing. However, entering into the settlement allows us to avoid the time and expense of protracted litigation.

We believe the requirements detailed in the settlement will have no material impact on our business or our current or future operations.

In fact, almost three years ago, before the FTC reached out to us, we proactively made updates consistent with our commitment to being at the forefront of safeguarding users' privacy.

While we used vendor technologies to advertise in a way that we believe was compliant with all applicable regulations and that remains a common practice among many health, consumer, and government websites, we are proud that we took action to be an industry leader in privacy practices.

We are glad to put this matter behind us so we can continue focusing on being a trusted source for Americans to find affordable and convenient healthcare.

The complete unedited response is available at this link.

More information on compliance and reporting breaches under the Health Breach Notification Rule are available on the FTC's Health Privacy page.

Disclosures: Precision Vax LLC participated in GoodRx programs until 2019 when it discontinued all business relationships.