Article : Facebook halts medical data sharing plan

Arnie Pye

Arnie Pye

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Is anyone who uses Facebook aware this was even being considered? I bet you weren't!

Facebook has halted plans to collect patient data from hospitals and match it up with its users' information.

The social network confirmed the idea had been discussed but had been "paused" while the company dealt with its privacy crisis.

Facebook has faced scrutiny after the data of millions of people was improperly shared with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

The company said it had not yet received any health records.

The hospital data sharing proposal was discovered by CNBC reporter Christina Farr.

Two people familiar with the plan told her, on condition of anonymity, that Facebook had approached hospitals and health organisations such as Stanford Medical School and the American College of Cardiology.
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Link for rest of article : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43668607

Once Fb has managed to sweep its privacy issues under the carpet I'm sure they will get right back to this idea.
 
I know that Facebook reaches alot of people but I don't trust it anymore. I'm not sure what to think about this.

Patient confidentiality is supposed to be a huge criteria! When I was working in the health field, we were not aloud to discuss any patients outside of the hospital. Only in our office, door closed to give report.

Facebook is not private. I don't think it ever will be. What do you all think? Do you want to share yourself on Facebook?
I'm curious.

I think there has to be a better way.
Did I read this right? :sick::laugh: I may have gotten the wrong impression. You know, Mush brain....o_O
 
ME stuff is some of the only stuff I share on FB--precisely because it does reach people. But I'm definitely concerned with what they might do with that information. I want to have control over medical information (and, actually, all other information I share on FB).

In my opinion facebook has become a sort of public utility. Actually, they used to describe their aspirations this way before they presumably figured out the regulatory implications. It's a public space where people get together to talk, or its the phone lines that allow people to talk to one another without driving over to where they live. And because everyone is part of the same network, it's very very difficult for other networks to take its place--google even tried a few years ago and failed. So it has become, in some ways, a monopoly--but an essential monopoly, a natural monopoly if you will. What do we do with natural monopolies like electricity service or water service? We regulate them as utilities.
 
Jan said:
I use facebook, but was concerned right from the beginning and used a false name, I'm so glad I did now.
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Me too, but I worry that they may still "know" me, due to the few people that I'm friends with, the email address I provided at sign-up, and the demographics it has of me by default (my country, IP address, etc.)
 
Woolie said:
Me too, but I worry that they may still "know" me, due to the few people that I'm friends with, the email address I provided at sign-up, and the demographics it has of me by default (my country, IP address, etc.)
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You're right, but it is still satisfying that fb continually tries to get my location and the year I was born out of me, so I'm one up on that score!
 
If people in general are worried about what Faceache know about them there are ways to find out.

I believe in your personal settings there is a section on Ads or something similar. It lists assumptions from your activity. Sorry If I'm not being very accurate, I can dig out an example later if requested.

One thing I know it will probably know:

  • everybody in your contact list
  • their phone number
  • your location
  • your location at various points during the day
  • what sites you visit
  • your activity on other sites
  • how often you visit them
  • who you message
  • when you message
  • links between your, your contacts, and shared third parties
  • your marital status
  • your political opinions
  • what income bracket you are in
  • who you vote for
  • your health status
probably what it knows from other means:
  • what you talk about
  • what you purchase
  • how much you purchase
  • when you purchase
 
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