Meta Pixel is an ad analytic software that many people and businesses use to create targeted ads. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and is currently being sued, along with two involved hospitals, over this significant leak.
33 out of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. have been victims of a leak of patient and doctor information. Every time patients created an appointment, their information was sent to Facebook. This includes their IP address, the patient’s name, the doctor's name, and the illness or medical condition that was the reason for the appointment.
The leak resulted from a targeted ad campaign that used patients' information to push ads for products related to their illnesses. One woman said that she received a series of ads targeting her knee and heart conditions after she scheduled her appointment.
This leak occurred in early June of 2022.
The leak can impact anyone that has been a patient at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, or MemorialCare Long Beach Hospital, among many others. Anyone who has set up an appointment at one of these or various other hospitals during or before June of 2022 may be at risk.
No one’s been able to answer exactly how many people or files have been affected by the leak. Nobody has even admitted to the leak; instead, they are taking and dealing with the lawsuits.