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Google sued for unauthorised use of NHS data

Privacy
  • Saw this in the news today, and I suspect itโ€™s not restricted to just the UK

    https://news.sky.com/story/google-sued-for-using-the-nhs-data-of-1-6-million-brits-without-their-knowledge-or-consent-12614525

    The Royal Free NHS Trust in London, which gave Google the patient data, was previously told the move was illegal following an investigation by the Information Commissionerโ€™s Office.

    Looks like both The NHS trust itself and Google are going to have the ICO knocking on their doors pretty soon - and not without justifiable reason either. The NHS is also in scope for HIPAA so this is going to be an interesting space to watch.

    Either way, the sale of any data that does not belong to you without formal consent is a breach of GDPR in Europe. Iโ€™m guessing Google will have a way of wriggling out of this one, but the fine would be four times the annual turnover of the firm, and not the โ‚ฌ25m advertised.

    Completely off-topic, butโ€ฆis it me, or does the below sound like it was taken from a Json Bourne film ๐Ÿ˜• (In the last film, the term โ€œIronHandโ€ made an appearance)

    The companyโ€™s artificial intelligence arm, DeepMind

    https://www.bustle.com/articles/175023-what-is-iron-hand-in-jason-bourne-get-ready-to-close-all-your-social-media-accounts

    And despite such a warningโ€ฆ Those with Facebook accounts will continue without a care in the world ๐Ÿ™‚

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