Healthline: Difference between revisions
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{{CompanyCargo | {{CompanyCargo | ||
|Founded=1999 | |Founded=1999 | ||
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|Industry=Health Information|Type=Subsidiary|Logo=Healthline_logo.svg}} | |Industry=Health Information|Type=Subsidiary|Logo=Healthline_logo.svg}} | ||
'''{{Wplink|Healthline|Healthline Media, Inc.}}''' is an American website and provider of health information. It was founded in 1999 as YourDoctor.com. | '''{{Wplink|Healthline|Healthline Media, Inc.}}''' is an American website and provider of health information. It was founded in 1999 as YourDoctor.com. In July 2019, the company was acquired by {{Wplink|Red Ventures}}. | ||
==Consumer-impact summary== | ==Consumer-impact summary== | ||
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This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]]. | This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]]. | ||
=== Violating California's CCPA (2025.07.01) === | |||
On 01 July 2025, the California Attorney General announced in a press release that they have reached a settlement with Healthline over the company's violation of the {{Wplink|California Consumer Privacy Act}} (CCPA). In an investigation conducted by the California DOJ, Healthline violated the CCPA by failing to provide consumers with the option to opt-out of targeted advertising and sharing user data to third parties without implementing "CCPA-mandated privacy protections". This shared data also included suggesting that a person may suffer from a serious health condition. The settlement resulted in $1.55 million in civil pentalties and banning the company from revealing that a consumer may have already been diagnosed with a medical condition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-01 |title=Attorney General Bonta Announces Largest CCPA Settlement to Date, Secures $1.55 Million from Healthline.com |url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-largest-ccpa-settlement-date-secures-155 |url-status=live |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260220183155/https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-largest-ccpa-settlement-date-secures-155 |archive-date=20 Feb 2026}}</ref> | |||
===Usage of AI generation=== | ===Usage of AI generation=== | ||
In their "ABOUT US" page they mention: <blockquote>In some cases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or similar technology, may be used in developing elements of our content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABOUT US |url=https://www.healthline.com/about/about-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106172359/https://www.healthline.com/about/about-us |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Healthline}}</ref></blockquote>Medical information is a highly delicate matter and AI which is known to quite frequently "hallucinate" can generate bogus information which may mislead a potentially vulverable person to make a life threatening decision. | In their "ABOUT US" page they mention: <blockquote>In some cases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or similar technology, may be used in developing elements of our content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABOUT US |url=https://www.healthline.com/about/about-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106172359/https://www.healthline.com/about/about-us |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Healthline}}</ref></blockquote>Medical information is a highly delicate matter and AI which is known to quite frequently "hallucinate" can generate bogus information which may mislead a potentially vulverable person to make a life threatening decision. | ||
===Rejecting cookies restricts site access=== | ===Rejecting cookies restricts site access=== | ||
Like many websites, Healthline asks for cookies upon accessing the site. Upon clicking on "Reject All", the user is taken to a "Anon" page which includes only 10 articles. On the same page they expain their reasoning:<blockquote>We believe that health information should be free to everyone and we rely on advertising to make this possible on our family of websites Healthline, Medical News Today, Greatist, and Psych Central. Providing the best health information in the world is expensive. We spend up to thousands of dollars per article to ensure it is accurate and precise with quality review by a doctor or other certified, trained medical professional.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Healthline |url=https://anon.healthline.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106172359/https://anon.healthline.com/ |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Healthline}}</ref> </blockquote> | Like many websites, Healthline asks for [[Web cookie|cookies]] upon accessing the site. Upon clicking on "Reject All", the user is taken to a "Anon" page which includes only 10 articles. On the same page they expain their reasoning:<blockquote>We believe that health information should be free to everyone and we rely on advertising to make this possible on our family of websites Healthline, Medical News Today, Greatist, and Psych Central. Providing the best health information in the world is expensive. We spend up to thousands of dollars per article to ensure it is accurate and precise with quality review by a doctor or other certified, trained medical professional.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Healthline |url=https://anon.healthline.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106172359/https://anon.healthline.com/ |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-01-06 |website=Healthline}}</ref> </blockquote> | ||
===Publishing misinformation===<!--somebody with medical knowledge please fill this up | ===Publishing misinformation===<!--somebody with medical knowledge please fill this up | ||
Latest revision as of 14:17, 15 March 2026
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Legal Structure | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Health Information |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.healthline.com |
Healthline Media, Inc. is an American website and provider of health information. It was founded in 1999 as YourDoctor.com. In July 2019, the company was acquired by Red Ventures.
Consumer-impact summary
[edit | edit source]
Incidents
[edit | edit source]
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Healthline category.
Violating California's CCPA (2025.07.01)
[edit | edit source]On 01 July 2025, the California Attorney General announced in a press release that they have reached a settlement with Healthline over the company's violation of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In an investigation conducted by the California DOJ, Healthline violated the CCPA by failing to provide consumers with the option to opt-out of targeted advertising and sharing user data to third parties without implementing "CCPA-mandated privacy protections". This shared data also included suggesting that a person may suffer from a serious health condition. The settlement resulted in $1.55 million in civil pentalties and banning the company from revealing that a consumer may have already been diagnosed with a medical condition.[1]
Usage of AI generation
[edit | edit source]In their "ABOUT US" page they mention:
In some cases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or similar technology, may be used in developing elements of our content.[2]
Medical information is a highly delicate matter and AI which is known to quite frequently "hallucinate" can generate bogus information which may mislead a potentially vulverable person to make a life threatening decision.
Rejecting cookies restricts site access
[edit | edit source]Like many websites, Healthline asks for cookies upon accessing the site. Upon clicking on "Reject All", the user is taken to a "Anon" page which includes only 10 articles. On the same page they expain their reasoning:
We believe that health information should be free to everyone and we rely on advertising to make this possible on our family of websites Healthline, Medical News Today, Greatist, and Psych Central. Providing the best health information in the world is expensive. We spend up to thousands of dollars per article to ensure it is accurate and precise with quality review by a doctor or other certified, trained medical professional.[3]
Publishing misinformation
[edit | edit source]Products
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See also
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References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "Attorney General Bonta Announces Largest CCPA Settlement to Date, Secures $1.55 Million from Healthline.com". State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General. 2025-07-01. Archived from the original on 20 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
- ↑ "ABOUT US". Healthline. Archived from the original on 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
- ↑ "Healthline". Healthline. Archived from the original on 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-01-06.