Our data is everywhere.

As the internet expands and changes at an unfathomable rate so does the

storage, use, and collection of some of our most valuable data. With this rapid, insurmountable
change, the risk of data breaches and misuse become more and more likely, resulting in many ethical
questions. Specifically, the case of Googles Project Nightingale raised major issues regarding
informed consent and privacy breaches. In 2019, Google partnered with Ascension (one of the
largest healthcare systems in the US) on Project Nightingale,’ collecting and analysing over 50 million
patient’s personal healthcare data with the intention to use it in developing new healthcare
technologies Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans -
WSJ . We believe that Google acted unethically in their collection and use of people’s personal data,
specifically the lack of informed consent and disregard for people’s personal privacy.

Informed consent is a process in which individuals are provided with relevant information about a
medical procedure or research study and given the opportunity to understand the risks and benefits
before making a voluntary decision. It is a crucial ethical practice to respect individuals' autonomy
and rights ensuring that individuals can make autonomous choices regarding their healthcare or
research https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199387106.003.0005. Project Nightingale blatantly
ignored the process of informed consent, sharing data with Ascension without even notifying
patients nor doctors that their data was being used. There was no choice for users to opt in or out,
nor was there any transparency around the fact that the data was even being collected. This
carelessness towards people’s personal data relates directly to Immanuel Kants respect for persons
ethical model theory. He states that you must, “never treat a person as a mere means but always
also as an end in themselves Kant’s Moral Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).” We
believe Google and Ascension were clearly treating the people as a mere means, taking their data
without any form of consent for their own benefit. No thought was taken about the people whose
data they were taking as individuals, just numbers to use for their own benefit.

Not only was this data collected through unethical means, but the way the data was then treated
further posed ethical wrongdoings. As the health records of millions of unassuming patients were
transferred, they were done so without any adequate safeguards to protect against data breaches or
unauthorised access. Furthermore, once transferred, the data wasn’t anonymised giving 150 google
employees and 150 ascension employees access to full medical records and personal details of the
data stolen. We believe that Google and Ascension acted unethically in the careless way they treated
the data and had no respect for the people behind the numbers, further acting in a way opposing
Kantian theory.

Ultimately, we believe that the unclear and careless way in which the data was gained and stored by
google and ascension means they acted unethically and without the public’s privacy and autonomy in
mind. We have shown that they acted in a way that opposes Kantian theory and uses people as a
means to an end, not as people.

https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199387106.003.0005

Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans - WSJ

What is Project Nightingale? Everything you need to know (techtarget.com)

Kant’s Moral Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)