Google Keeps Pumping its Data Bags with ‘Project Nightingale’

While Facebook is the company that most people think of when it comes to questionable data collecting and sharing practices, it is worth remembering that most tech-oriented firms are really just as bad. Google has particularly been known to collect every scrap of data it can get its hands on, and recent reports do not only confirm this but reveal the true size of the firm’s intrusiveness.

A @wsj bombshell: Google is collecting and analyzing health records from tens of millions of Americans in 21 states through an agreement with the country's second-largest healthcare system, the story says. Patients and doctors haven't been informed. https://t.co/zR9v56JA2Y

— Laura J. Nelson 🦅 (@laura_nelson) November 11, 2019

‘Project Nightingale’ Collecting American Medical Data

According to new reports, Google has engaged with one of the largest healthcare systems in the US, with hopes of collecting personal health data of millions of US citizens. The system is known as Ascension, which is a Catholic chain consisting of around 2,600 hospitals. Meanwhile, Google’s project responsible for the collection of data is known as ‘Project Nightingale.’ The company allegedly launched the project last year, in secret, and while there is no way of telling how much data it has accumulated over time, it is known that data sharing accelerated this summer. The data itself included all kinds of lab results, hospital records, doctor diagnoses, and more, without previously notifying doctors or patients. However, according to privacy experts, Google still did this without actually breaking the federal law, meaning that the company did not overstep its permissions. As for the company’s reasons for doing it, it allegedly aims do design a new software based on AI technology and machine learning, that would be able to precisely analyze patients’ conditions and suggest changes to their treatments and care.

Is There a Solution to Companies’ Intrusiveness?

With IT giants doing everything in their power to accumulate as much data as possible, and not even bothering to notify people about it, it is hardly surprising that many were quite shocked and disturbed by the news. Discussions about potential solutions and methods of stopping the companies from taking sensitive data have been emerging around the web for years now. Some believe that the solution to the issue may lie in the blockchain technology. As many might know, blockchain tech can store patients’ medical files, as well as allow them full control over who can access it. This is possible due to its decentralized nature, and likely the only way to stop firms like Google from collecting private information. What do you think about ‘Project Nightingale?’ Do you think that blockchain tech could help? Let us know in the comments below.

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