MedPage Today spoke to Of Counsel Melissa H. Nafash about the class action lawsuit against Meta Platforms, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, and Dignity Health Medical Foundation over allegations that patients' private medical information was unlawfully taken and used for profit.

The case, which argues that Meta is violating its own policies by accepting sensitive medical information, is part of a larger issue around data sharing and private medical information that's become an increasing concern for patients and doctors alike.

The plaintiff, known as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, began receiving emails and seeing targeted ads on Facebook related to her medical conditions after she had scheduled appointments and contacted doctors using UCSF's and Dignity's patient portals.

"She has received so many of the targeted emails that she created a new email account separate from the one associated with her Facebook account to avoid the advertisements," said Ms. Nafash.  "This is an overwhelming invasion of Plaintiff Doe's privacy and we look forward to representing her and the putative class in this important case."