Lawsuit filed against LinkedIn and Google for accessing Covered California data

Following an investigation conducted by CalMatters and The Markup, LinkedIn and Google have found themselves entangled in a proposed class-action lawsuit for allegedly obtaining confidential data from monitoring tools on California’s health insurance exchange website.

The lawsuit, which came a day after the investigation was published, has accused the companies of wrongfully accessing personal information through trackers on the coveredca.com website. A California congressman, prompted by the investigation, has urged the federal Health and Human Services Department to look into the exchange’s data sharing with LinkedIn.

The joint article uncovered that trackers embedded on the website were sending visitor information to LinkedIn through a tool known as the Insight Tag. As visitors interacted with the site by filling out forms, these trackers transmitted data to LinkedIn, disclosing sensitive details such as pregnancy status, visual impairment, gender identity, and experiences with domestic violence. Additionally, the trackers monitored searches for healthcare providers and the frequency of prescription drug usage among visitors.

The government entity that oversees the exchange, Covered California, has since removed these trackers, noting that they were initially implemented as part of an advertising campaign commencing in February 2024. A spokesperson for Covered California confirmed the discontinuation of the tracking tools.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, relies on forensic analysis conducted by CalMatters and The Markup, coupled with the plaintiff’s research, to allege that LinkedIn and Google intercepted health data from the website’s trackers without users’ knowledge or consent. An anonymous California woman, the plaintiff, asserts that her information submitted on Covered California was shared with LinkedIn and Google without authorization around June of the preceding year.

Seeking to represent all individuals whose data was transmitted to these tech giants by Covered California, the lawsuit pursues class-action status. The law firm representing the plaintiff, Bursor and Fisher, specializes in class-action litigation, especially in cases involving data privacy. Notably, the firm obtained a $100 million settlement from Google in 2022 for alleged privacy infringements.

The lawsuit claims that LinkedIn and Google covertly intercepted private communications between Covered California and its customers, without obtaining the requisite consent for such actions. The suit is brought on behalf of others in similar situations and condemns the tech companies for their unauthorized interceptions.

In light of these developments, it’s evident that the allegations against LinkedIn and Google are serious and could have significant ramifications for how technology companies handle personal data in the future. The outcome of this lawsuit could set a precedent for safeguarding users’ privacy in the digital age.