Google DeepMind, Royal Free London rapped for patient data sharing

➕ May 2016. The New Scientist revealed that Deepmind had failed to secure approval from the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. 

➕ July 2017. The UK Information Commissioner's Office ruled that the Royal Free hospital had failed to comply with the UK Data Protection Act when it shared the data, though it did not issue a fine on the basis that there was a lack of guidance for the sector. 

➕ September 2021. Law firm Mishcon de Reya announced it was to bring a class action lawsuit against Google on behalf of the 1.6 million individuals whose medical records were shared.

➕ October 2021. DeepMind apologised and stated that it had focused on building tools for clinicians, rather than considering how the project should have been shaped by the needs of patients.

➕ May 2022. The action was later discontinued and resurrected as a legal action against Google for using the NHS data of 1.6 million Britons 'without their knowledge or consent'.