Aaron Burstein and Céline Guillou Quoted on Healthline CCPA Settlement

Partner Aaron Burstein and Special Counsel Céline Guillou were quoted in ​“Healthline’s Record-Setting CCPA Settlement Offers Lessons on Transparency and Opt-Outs” published by Cybersecurity Law Report. The article covers Healthline Media’s $1.55 million settlement with the California Attorney General’s office over claims of violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which is the largest financial CCPA settlement to date.

The complaint against Healthline alleged that consumers did not have the ability to opt out of targeted advertising when visiting Healthline​.com, and that Healthline was sharing consumers’ data, including health information, without consent. The article details the complaint against Healthline, the terms of its settlement, and key takeaways for companies as they operate under the CCPA.

“The Healthline complaint puts a focus on publishers that sell space on their sites for targeted advertising,” cautioned Aaron.

Healthline​.com is ​“one of the top 40 most visited websites in the world,” according to the California AG. Céline added that ​“regulators are paying close attention to how businesses are operationalizing consumer rights and, in particular, any discrepancies between what a business tells consumers and what it is actually doing behind the scenes, including to effectuate consumer choice.”

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