Fertility app maker Flo Health faces consolidated privacy lawsuit

• Flo Health sees new lawsuit in California federal court
• App developers reached an agreement with FTC in January
• “Diverse Slate” vies for interim co-lead counsel

(Reuters) – Flo Health Inc is facing a consolidated class action lawsuit alleging the developer of period and fertility tracking apps for disclosing sensitive health information about users to third parties without the app users’ knowledge.

The alleged third parties – Facebook Inc, Google from Alphabet Inc., and data analytics companies Flurry Inc and AppsFlyer Inc – were also named as defendants in the lawsuit filed in California federal court on Thursday.

Flo Health declined through his Dechert attorney on Friday to comment on the pending litigation. Lawyers for Facebook, Google, Flurry and AppsFlyer for law firms Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Latham & Watkins did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The newly filed lawsuit brings together plaintiffs from seven proposed class action lawsuits filed against Flo Health earlier this year. The first complaint related to the alleged unlawful disclosure of data came after the US Federal Trade Commission announced a deal with Flo Health in January.

Women’s health app users provide Flo Health with personal information, including “intimate details” about sexual health and menstrual cycles, among other things in order to use the app, the complaint said.

Flo Health allegedly violated user privacy by disclosing this information to third parties through software development kits (SDKs) built into its app, despite the company’s privacy policies and “public assurances” that it would not disclose any data, it said in the complaint. In using the third-party SDKs, Flo Health shared the personal data with other defendants who allegedly “knew the data Flo Health collected and received contained intimate health data” but did not stop because the data is “vital to” theirs Business “, such as for marketing and data analysis purposes, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit makes several claims against Flo Health, including invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and violation of federal Recorded Communications Act. Plaintiffs accuse the other companies of having “supported” the alleged practices of Flo Health, including a lawsuit against Facebook, Google and Flurry under the Federal Wiretap Act.

Plaintiffs attorneys on Thursday filed a separate motion to appoint attorneys from three law firms as interim co-lead attorneys. The filing promotes privacy, consumer protection and complex class action litigation experiences of the proposed executives and highlights the proposed structure as a reflection of a “diverse list of lawyers”.

Carol Villegas from Labaton Sucharow, Diana Zinser from Spector Roseman & Kodroff and Christian Levis from Lowey Dannenberg are looking for leadership roles.

The proposed leaders “embody the diversity necessary to justify claims from women whose private intimate health information has been disclosed without authorization,” the lawyers wrote. Villegas, Zinser, and Levis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is Frasco v Flo Health Inc, US District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3: 21-cv-00757-JD.

For the plaintiffs: Carol Villegas from Labaton Sucharow, Diana Zinser from Spector Roseman & Kodroff and Christian Levis from Lowey Dannenberg

For Flo Health: Brenda Sharton from Dechert

For Facebook: Ashley Rogers from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

For Google: Benedict Hur from Willkie Farr & Gallagher

For Flurry: Ann Marie Mortimer from Hunton Andrews Kurth

For AppsFlyer: Melanie Blunschi from Latham & Watkins

Continue reading:

The maker of women’s health apps is settling FTC claims for data disclosure

Sara Remember

Sara Merken reports on privacy and data security as well as legal business, including legal innovations and key players in the legal services industry. Reach her at sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/04/fertility-app-maker-flo-health-faces-consolidated-privacy-lawsuit/