Reuters: 5 States Join FTC Privacy Lawsuit Against Hims & Hers
Key Facts
Reuters reported that 5 U.S. states joined the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit accusing Hims & Hers of deceptive and unlawful privacy practices. The development, according to the report published on November 10, 2026, is part of a dispute involving telehealth services and their users’ data. But the commission’s statement and the publicly available official record document the original lawsuit with Utah and Los Angeles County, representing California, and do not establish that the five new states joined on that date. The number of additional states therefore remains attributed to Reuters’ report, while the available official record does not confirm that detail. The lawsuit contains allegations that have not been resolved by a court and does not by itself establish a violation or impose a penalty on the company.
The Federal Trade Commission says in its complaint that Hims & Hers shared consumers’ sensitive health information with advertising platforms including Meta and Snap, despite assurances that it protected privacy. The commission also alleges that most consumers did not receive a consultation with a health care provider before subscribing and being billed for a prescribed treatment, and that submitting an intake form was often enough to start charges without consumers’ knowledge. The complaint also addresses cancellation procedures: the commission says the company made cancellation difficult and that most consumers could not complete it online before the company made that option available to most of them in 2023. The commission says the alleged practices violate the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, while Utah alleges a violation of the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, and California cites its false advertising and unfair competition laws. These allegations in the complaint remain disputed by the parties and are not final court rulings.
The original lawsuit was filed on July 29, 2026, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with the Federal Trade Commission, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and Los Angeles County as parties. Hims & Hers says the lawsuit overlooks material evidence it provided to the commission during an investigation that lasted nearly 3 years. The filing said the commission issued a civil investigative demand for information in October 2023 concerning privacy, advertising, subscription and cancellation practices. The company filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on October 22, 2026, and the court scheduled a hearing on the motion for January 14, 2027. The filing of the motion and the scheduling of the hearing do not indicate how the court will rule on it or on the underlying allegations.
On the financial front, the company said it recorded a legal accrual of about $60 million for the case as of September 30, 2026. Its filing added that it could not predict the outcome of the litigation or estimate a possible loss exceeding the accrued amount, which does not establish that the court imposed a fine or that the amount represents a final judgment. In U.S. economic data released on November 10, the consumer price index rose 0.4% in October on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, after a 0.6% increase in September. The core index, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% in October, the same increase recorded in September and August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the shelter index rose 0.3% in October and accounted for more than 30% of the monthly increase in the overall index; November data are scheduled for release on December 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.