California AG Issues Largest Monetary Penalty In Most Recent CCPA Enforcement Action

On July 1, the California Attorney General (CA AG) announced a $1.55 million settlement – the largest penalty issued under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to date – with Healthline, an online health and wellness knowledge platform. The settlement follows an investigation by the California Department of Justice, which found that Healthline violated the CCPA through its use of online tracking tools for targeted advertising purposes and its disclosure of sensitive health-related information to advertisers without complying with the CCPA's requirements. The complaint also alleges that Healthline violated the CCPA's purpose limitation principle by using consumers' personal information in a manner that was inconsistent with the purposes for which it was collected and processed initially. The complaint further claims the company failed to include required privacy terms in contracts with third parties and misled users with a consent banner that did not actually