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Menstruation cycle tracking app breached users' privacy, B.C. class-action lawsuit alleges (bc.ctvnews.ca)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

64 comments fedilink hide all child comments

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia Supreme Court judge says a class-action lawsuit can move forward over alleged privacy breaches against a company that made an app to track users' menstrual and fertility cycles. The ruling published online Friday says the action against Flo Health Inc. alleges the company shared users' highly personal health information with third-parties, including Facebook, Google and other companies.

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[+] [email protected] -12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There's not a word in this article about why this breach of privacy matters while others do not. It's not stated whether this was in the terms of service for the app, and whether those terms were ruled against.

All kinds of apps have been selling personal information for a long time, and it's been ruled before that it's allowed if they have the proper legalese in the terms of service. Did this app just not have any terms of service?

Why is it a breach of privacy for this app, but other apps doing the same selling of personal data is not?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Why is it a breach of privacy for this app, but other apps doing the same selling of personal data is not?

From the article...

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users' personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”

IANAL, but my understanding, after having read the whole article, is that regardless of the fact that there may or may not have been an agreement between the app creator and its users, that they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I read the article too, and those things you quoted sound to me like things every app does.

Hence my question: what is different here?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

regardless of the fact that there may or may not have been an agreement between the app creator and its users, that they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

It's not a matter of something being different or not. It's no matter what, it's illegal. Law trumps any TOU/EULA.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren't doing??

I really don't know how to be any more clear with this question.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren’t doing??

I really don’t know how to be any more clear with this question.

From the article…

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users’ personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”

[+] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

they still ran foul of laws that cannot be waived by any sort of TOU/EULA agreement.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren't doing?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So what are they doing that illegal that other apps aren’t doing?

You're making an assumption that's not correct, and asking the wrong question.

Multiple apps can have the same legal problem, but the government/lawsuit only goes after one app at a time, the low-hanging fruit first.

As far as what's being done illegally, to cause the lawsuit...

The lawsuit alleges that Flo Health misused users’ personal information “for its own financial gain,” claiming breach of privacy, breach of confidence and “intrusion upon seclusion.”