Penalty Amount
$1,550,000
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $1.55 million settlement with health information website publisher Healthline Media LLC, resolving allegations that the company violated the CCPA and Unfair Competition Law. Violations included failing to honor consumer opt-out requests, sharing sensitive health data with third parties without required privacy protections, and using deceptive consent banners that did not disable tracking cookies. The settlement imposes injunctive terms, compliance requirements, and a civil penalty, marking the largest CCPA settlement to date.
Healthline must pay $1.55 million in civil penalties and is permanently enjoined from sharing article titles that could reveal a consumer’s medical diagnosis. The company must ensure opt-out mechanisms (including Global Privacy Control) function properly, implement a CCPA compliance program that includes auditing third-party contracts for required privacy terms, and maintain accurate privacy policies and online disclosures.
In-house legal teams, especially at ad-supported online publishers or companies handling sensitive health data, should review vendor agreements with ad networks, tracking technology providers, and third-party data recipients to ensure they include all CCPA-mandated privacy terms, including requirements to honor opt-out requests (including via Global Privacy Control) and prohibitions on sharing sensitive health data without proper protections. Privacy policies and consent banners must be audited to confirm they accurately disclose tracking practices, that opt-out mechanisms function to disable all tracking cookies when selected, and that no deceptive dark patterns (like non-functional consent banners) are present. Companies should also review data sharing practices to comply with purpose limitation principles, specifically prohibiting transmission of data (such as article titles) that could link consumers to medical diagnoses, and update compliance programs to include regular audits of third-party contracts and privacy disclosures.
Entity
Healthline Media LLC
Also known as: Healthline
Industry
Media & EntertainmentOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-largest-ccpa-settlement-date-secures-155
People v. Healthline Media Complaint
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/People%20v.%20Healthline%20Media%20Complaint.pdf
Signed Judgment 0
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Signed%20Judgment_0.pdf
Proposed Order re Injunction with case number
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Proposed%20Order%20re%20Injunction%20with%20case%20number.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"website publisher Healthline Media LLC (Healthline)"
"$1.55 million in civil penalties"
"Tuesday, July 1, 2025"
"violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)"
"violated the CCPA and the Unfair Competition Law"
"Failing to opt consumers out of the sharing of their personal information for targeted advertising."
The California Privacy Protection Agency announced that the California State Legislature approved the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), which expands the CCPA's right to delete to cover all non-exempt personal information a business holds about a consumer, including data originally collected from third parties. The bill also requires online-only businesses with a direct relationship to consumers to provide online methods, such as webforms, for submitting access, deletion, and correction requests, and expressly permits businesses to retain suppression lists so deleted information stays deleted. The bill, authored by Senator Becker and sponsored by CalPrivacy, now goes to the Governor for consideration.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Facebook and Instagram that drive children and teens to use the platforms compulsively, while falsely assuring parents and the public that its platforms were safe for young users. The states also allege Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA. The trial opened before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the states seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief.
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court in California to halt the proposed $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) joined a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and state agencies in opposing the proposed SECURE Data Act, a federal privacy bill that would preempt stronger state privacy laws like the CCPA. The coalition argues the bill would weaken consumer privacy protections, limit enforcement remedies, and undermine California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed addictive features on Facebook and Instagram that harm children and teens, deceived parents about platform safety, and illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent in violation of COPPA. The states seek monetary penalties, an injunction to stop unlawful practices, and other relief. The trial is being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
$12.8M
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with multiple district attorneys and the California Privacy Protection Agency, announced a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors for illegally selling hundreds of thousands of Californians' location and driving data to data brokers Verisk and LexisNexis without notice or consent. The settlement includes the largest CCPA penalty to date, a five-year ban on selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies, and requirements to delete retained data and implement a robust privacy program.