UK court dismisses privacy lawsuit against Google
In a legal decision closely watched by privacy advocates, a UK court dismissed an appeal seeking to revive a lawsuit against Google over its use of patient data from a British hospital.
Google has successfully defended itself against a revived privacy lawsuit in the UK concerning the transfer of patient data from the Royal Free London NHS Trust. The legal case, brought by patient Andrew Prismall on behalf of 1.6 million individuals, alleged that the data shared with Google’s AI division, DeepMind Technologies, was misused.
The Royal Free NHS Trust had transferred the data in 2015 to assist in developing an AI app designed to detect kidney injuries. Although Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office ruled in 2017 that the data-sharing arrangement violated privacy laws, a subsequent lawsuit against Google and DeepMind was dismissed last year due to insufficient grounds.
On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal upheld this dismissal, rejecting Prismall’s attempt to challenge the earlier ruling. Google has not commented on the outcome, which closes a high-profile chapter in the debate over privacy and technology’s role in healthcare.
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