We are seeing hundreds of healthcare providers and other businesses targeted by class action lawsuits across the country, alleging the unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI), and seeking civil damages for each disclosure. PII and PHI was gathered using a tracker called Meta Pixel. In addition to the exposure organizations may face from class action lawsuits, breach notifications and regulatory enforcement may also cause significant expense.
What is Meta Pixel?
As a business owner, you need to know if your ads are reaching your customers. To do this, several companies (including Facebook’s parent company, Meta) offer tools like Meta Pixel to track website user interactions using JavaScript code. Trackers run a script when a user visits a website in a browser which can collect information in HTTP headers, button click data, form field names, and other user-specified data. Meta Pixel is added to a business website either manually by a developer or through a partner integration.
Businesses are not always aware of the data that these tracker tools are collecting. If trackers are not configured correctly, they may collect sensitive user data. Federal law, state law, and HIPAA require patient consent and a business associate agreement to share PHI between companies.
Recommendations
We strongly encourage you to identify any specific forms or pages on your company websites containing Meta Pixel and removing it using the following information:
- Use a tool to assess whether your website uses Meta Pixel: https://themarkup.org/blacklight.
- Remove Meta Pixel by following the instructions on the following links:
If hardcoded on your website: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/4224030857607474
If plugin, direct website or partner integration, Google Tag Manager implementation: https://back2marketingschool.com/delete-facebook-pixel/
For Additional Information
https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-is-a-facebook-pixel/
https://www.spectroomz.com/how-to-delete-facebook-pixel
https://www.hipaajournal.com/meta-facing-further-class-action-lawsuit-over-use-of-meta-pixel-code-on-hospital-websites/
If you need further assistance or have questions, we suggest contacting your IS resource, website/social media support service, or SVMIC at ContactSVMIC@svmic.com or 800.342.2239.
