|
Madigan: Popular health websites must
ensure privacy of users' health information
Attorney general calls on top health
websites to provide details on consumer privacy
Send a link to a friend
[July 15, 2013]
CHICAGO -- Last week, Attorney
General Lisa Madigan called on the administrators of several popular
health-related websites to address the growing privacy concerns over
the collection of consumers' health information online.
|
 Madigan sent letters Friday to officials at
webmd.com,
weightwatchers.com,
drugs.com,
menshealth.com,
mayoclinic.com,
about.com,
health.com and
mercola.com, requesting they
disclose the extent to which their sites capture online users'
health information, how the companies store the information and
whether outside companies are given access to this information.
"Maintaining privacy in a digital world is one of the most critical
consumer protection challenges we now face," Madigan said. "While
websites can offer important information, the use of the Internet to
research health-related issues also raises troubling privacy
concerns."
Madigan's letter was prompted by a growing concern that health
information, which would be protected if disclosed in a traditional
medical setting -- such as a doctor's office -- can be captured,
shared and sold when online users enter their information into a
website. Yet, many times, a website disclosure about the extent to
which information is captured or shared is buried in privacy
policies not found on the websites' main pages.
[to top of second column] |
Madigan cited a recent study by the Pew Research Center that shows
72 percent of adults in the United States have used the Internet to
research health issues. As more people rely on the Internet for
health-related information, Madigan said it is critical that they
understand what happens to the information they share. To address
these issues, the attorney general has requested details of each
company's privacy policy and information on how the companies
gather, store and release private data to third parties.
For a copy of Madigan's letter, see
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/
pressroom/2013_07/
Information_Request_to_WebMD.pdf.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan] |
