Meta faces mounting questions from Congress on health data privacy as hospitals remove Facebook tracker

Meta is facing mounting questions about its access to sensitive medical data following a Markup investigation that found the company’s pixel tracking tool collecting details about patients’ doctor’s appointments, prescriptions, and health conditions on hospital websites.

During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Sept. 14, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) requested that Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — provide a “comprehensive and precise” accounting of the medical information it keeps on users.

“There’s been substantial public reporting, controversy, and concern about the Meta Pixel product and the possibility that its deployment on various hospital systems’ websites, for example, has enabled Meta to collect private health care data,” Ossoff said.

STAT+ Exclusive Story

Already have an account? Log in

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — and get additional analysis of the technologies disrupting health care — by subscribing to STAT+.

Already have an account? Log in

Individual plans

Group plans

Monthly

$39

Totals $468 per year

$39/month Get Started

Totals $468 per year

Starter

$30

for 3 months, then $399/year

$30 for 3 months Get Started

Then $399/year

Annual

$399

Save 15%

$399/year Get Started

Save 15%

11+ Users

Custom

Savings start at 25%!

Request A Quote Request A Quote

Savings start at 25%!

2-10 Users

$300

Annually per user

$300/year Get Started

$300 Annually per user

View All Plans

To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+.

Subscribe

Log In