Digital Health

USA vs Monument Inc

The first domino in addiction privacy enforcement?

Jonathan JK Stoltman, PhD

Apr 12, 2024 — 5 min read

Monumental addiction privacy settlement?

On April 11, 2024, the FTC and DOJ resolved their complaint against Monument, a digital alcohol addiction treatment service. Monument was found to violate both Section 5 of the FTC Act (deceptive practices) and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018 (deceptive practices related to addiction treatment and recovery). This landmark case establishes key precedents related to digital addiction treatment and privacy.

What did Monument do?

As the complaint reads, Monument was:

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It's been 1,232 days and still no health breach notifications from 22 companies blatantly violating people's health privacy rights.

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Priorities for Opioid Settlement Money: Spend Now vs. Invest for Future 3 minutes📽️ “That’s not to say that prevention isn't important, but we also know prevention is a real long game,” Stoltman said. “If you think about it as like the building is on fire, the first