Jury rules Meta violated California privacy laws by quietly collecting Flo users’ menstrual health data
TechCrunch3 days
Jury Rules Meta Violated Privacy Law Over Period App Data
Above: The Meta Platforms Inc. pavilion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in 2025. Image copyright: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
This verdict sends a crucial message to Big Tech companies that they can't secretly profit from women's most intimate health data. The jury saw through Meta's denials and recognized this as a clear violation of privacy rights. Moving forward, tech companies must know they could be held liable if they collect sensitive reproductive data without permission.
Narrative B
Meta never intentionally collected or wanted sensitive health data from Flo users, as evidenced by company policies that explicitly prohibit developers from sending such information. Meta simply provided analytics tools that Flo misused. This case should've been thrown out since the suit was filed beyond the one-year limit expressed in the app's service agreement.