Healthline: Difference between revisions

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|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==

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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]].

=== 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}}</ref>

===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.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 |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==
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 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}}</ref>
 ===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.