Class Action Alleges Labcorp Discloses Website Visitors’ Personal Info to Meta Without Consent

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A proposed class action claims Labcorp has illegally recorded and disclosed website visitors’ personal and health information to Meta (Facebook) without their knowledge or consent.

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The 26-page case against Labcorp alleges more specifically that Meta Platforms, a co-defendant in the suit, offers a snippet of tracking code known as the Meta pixel that the laboratory services provider has embedded on Labcorp.com to secretly intercept the contents of users’ electronic communications as they click through the site.

“Meta combined this sensitive information with information about each user gathered from other sources and use it for purposes not authorized by the persons from which the data was taken,” the lawsuit summarizes. “Labcorp website users were not advised that Meta collected this information, and Meta did not have their consent to do so.”

The complaint explains that consumers can use Labcorp’s website to access their medical testing results, book appointments, request medical testing supplies, pay for services they receive or search for health-related information and inquiries. As consumers navigate Labcorp.com, the Meta pixel collects highly confidential data gathered from the pages consumers visit, the search terms they enter into the website and the results of those searches, the filing says.

According to the suit, the pixel also reveals a website visitor’s identity by capturing their Facebook ID (FID), a unique sequence of numbers linked to that individual’s Facebook profile.

“This expansive tracking enables Meta to make highly personal inferences about users, such as about their ‘interests,’ ‘behavior,’ and ‘connections,’” the case says. “Meta compiles information it obtains, makes such inferences, and then uses them to identify personalized ‘audiences’ likely to respond to particular advertisers’ messaging.”

Moreover, Meta says that clients like Labcorp can use its pixel “to track Facebook ad-driven visitor activity on your website…[and] use the data to analyze your website’s conversion flows and optimize your ad campaigns,” the complaint relays.

Per the case, Meta has run afoul of California and Pennsylvania law by intercepting the contents of Labcorp.com users’ electronic communications without their permission. Similarly, the complaint argues that Labcorp was prohibited under the same state privacy laws from “aiding, employing, or conspiring” with Meta to engage in its alleged data-sharing practices.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in California or Pennsylvania who entered search terms into Labcorp’s website and used Facebook when the Meta pixel was active on Labcorp.com. 

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