KP Saikiran reports: Kerala, whose scientific contact-tracing strategy in the initial weeks of the pandemic became a model for others to follow, has now worked up an ethical and legal storm with a controversial police decision to collect call detail records (CDR) of Covid-positive citizens and draw up “route maps” to trace those who came…
Category: Healthcare
Germany Prepares New Law for Patient Data Protection and Increased Digitalisation in Healthcare and for “Data Donations” for Research Purposes
Dr. Adem Koyuncu and Valerie Mei of Covington & Burling write: On 3 July 2020, the German parliament passed a draft bill (German language) for patient data protection and for more digitalisation in the German healthcare system (Patientendaten-Schutz-Gesetz). The draft bill is currently in the legislative procedure and is expected to enter into force in…
Coronavirus is halting US data privacy efforts across tech companies
Donna Miller reports: Data privacy has taken a backseat by way of nationwide priorities within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as Congress has shifted its complete focus to the virus and US tech companies have begun working with state and federal authorities to achieve potential sufferers. The US has turned to Silicon Valley in…
EPIC Obtains Records on White House COVID-19 Response, Location Data Tracking
From EPIC.org: EPIC has obtained hundreds of pages of records (1, 2, 3, 4) from the Office of Science and Technology Policy about the White House’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and proposals to use location data for public health surveillance. The documents were produced in response to an EPIC Freedom of Information Act request. The records show that…