A new one has been added to Facebook data collection claims. Facebook, which has been accused of collecting the information of its users for many years, may now be in trouble for hospitals. Allegedly, sensitive information of patients in the US, such as their medical condition, medications, and doctor’s appointments, can be accessed by Meta.
Facebook may be secretly collecting patient data
Data security site The Markup analyzed the websites of the top 100 hospitals in the US. According to the claim in the report, a tool known as Meta Pixel worked and sent data to Facebook when the doctor appointment button was clicked in 33 of these hospitals.
It was reported that the information sent to Facebook servers is linked to the patient’s IP address and used to identify a specific person. So this leads Facebook to find out who made the appointment request.
The Markup report included an example of examining Cleveland Medical Center’s website. Clicking the “online appointment” button on a doctor’s page caused Meta Pixel to run in the background. Allegedly, Meta Pixel forwarded the doctor’s name and the phrase “abortion” used in the search to Facebook.
A similar situation occurred for the test for Froedtert Hospital. When clicking the button to make an appointment for a doctor on the website; The text typed in the search section, the doctor’s name and the ailment was posted to Facebook.
Sending data to Facebook server shows that millions of patients are at risk. According to the report shared by the American Hospital Association, 33 hospitals hosting Meta Pixel registered more than 26 million patients in 2020 alone.
Both the hospitals in question and Meta denied their claims that such an agreement was made. In addition, it is unclear for now whether hospitals or Meta inform patients about this issue.
So what do you think about Facebook data collection allegations? Do not forget to share your views with us in the comments section.
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