Dozens of websites tied to the national mental health crisis 988 hotline, which launched last summer, transmit the data through a tool called the Meta Pixel, according to testing conducted by The Markup. That data often included signals to Facebook when visitors attempted to dial for mental health emergencies by tapping on dedicated call buttons on the websites.

In some cases, filling out contact forms on the sites transmitted hashed but easily unscrambled names and email addresses to Facebook.

Lecher, C., & Keegan, J. (2023, June 13). Suicide hotlines promise anonymity. Dozens of their websites send sensitive data to Facebook. The Markup. https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2023/06/13/suicide-hotlines-promise-anonymity-dozens-of-their-websites-send-sensitive-data-to-facebook