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AUSTRALIA: Medical booking app maker charged to court for doctoring reviews

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AUSTRALIA: Medical booking app maker charged to court for doctoring reviews

An Australian regulator has sued the maker of the country’s biggest doctor-booking software app, accusing it of deleting negative reviews and selling the personal details of 135,000 people to health insurers without properly informing them, Reuters report.

The lawsuit lodged against HealthEngine highlights the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) increasing scrutiny over the way internet businesses handle people’s personal data.

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The regulator has called for an overhaul of privacy law and promised action against internet companies which use people’s private information without their knowledge.

“The alleged conduct by HealthEngine is particularly egregious because patients would have visited doctors at their time of need based on manipulated reviews that did not accurately reflect the experience of other patients,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims in a statement on Thursday.

In a court filing, the ACCC accused HealthEngine of immediately disregarding 17,000 patient reviews if a person answered “no” to a question about whether they would recommend a service. The company also edited 3,000 reviews to remove negative comments, the filing said.

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