The Federal Trade Commission and regulators from seven states just turned up the heat on Hims & Hers. The telehealth company, which has built a booming business on discreet online prescriptions for everything from hair loss to weight management, now faces an expanded lawsuit alleging it exposed sensitive patient health data and trapped hundreds of thousands of consumers in deceptive prescription subscriptions.

The amended complaint, authorized by a 2-0 FTC vote and filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, adds Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin as co-plaintiffs. They join Utah and California, the latter acting through the Los Angeles County Counsel, building on initial allegations filed in July.

Regulators assert that Hims breached the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act and multiple state consumer protection statutes through unauthorized billing and deceptive privacy pledges.

Deceptive Prescriptions And Blocked Cancellations

Here's the pitch: Hims advertises that users can consult medical providers free of charge to determine suitable treatments. Sounds convenient, right? But according to regulators, the reality is a bit different. In practice, the platform enrolls users in recurring subscriptions and charges them almost immediately after receiving their medical intake forms, denying them any meaningful opportunity to review or authorize recommended treatments.

Despite receiving consumer complaints for years, Hims maintained refund policies that systematically blocked reimbursements for unwanted charges, even before shipping the medications. The company also conceals recurring refill dates, causing customers to miss cancellation deadlines and pay for unrequested medications.

And here's the kicker: regulators allege Hims deliberately refused to implement simple cancellation mechanisms because its own internal research showed straightforward cancellations would materially harm its bottom line. That's not just bad customer service. That's a business model built on friction.

Health Data Shared With Advertisers

The amended complaint also takes aim at the company's data practices. While Hims assured consumers that its platform offers a "100% online, private, and secure" process where only medical providers access sensitive health information, regulators argue the company broke those promises to expand corporate revenue.

Instead, Hims allegedly shared the private health information of millions of consumers, including records of patients seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction and mental illness, with third-party advertising platforms like Meta Platforms (META) and Snap Inc. (SNAP). Yes, the same platforms where you scroll through cat videos and targeted ads.

HIMS Price Action: Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) shares were up 4.99% at $20.08 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to market data.