Blue Shield Failed to Shield Users’ Private Health Information

Blue Shield of California inadvertently permitted Google to access the private health information of millions of its members. Blue Shield provided notice of the breach to 4.7 million members, claiming it did not know whether any particular member’s information was affected. The disclosed information may have included: insurance plan name, type and group number, city, zip code, gender, and family size. Google may have used this information to conduct targeted ad campaigns. Several class action lawsuits have already been filed against Blue Shield seeking substantial damages.