Some will make money from 'health data', FTC fears
London: The imminent release of Apple 's first smartwatch in 2015, which will record, perhaps store and transfer data from the human body's functioning to Apple's "health file", has not only gained the interest of people who love Apple, but also of the Trade Commission.
Before approving its release, the FTC is reportedly trying to ensure that Apple will not market the “health” data and will not allow its partners to do so, Reuters. The agency cites two anonymous sources, according to which the meetings of Apple representatives with the Commission are consecutive, while at the same time the company states through its spokesperson that “Healthkit was designed with the protection of the privacy of its contents in mind.”
The treasure trove in Healthkit is the data collected by sensors that touch or listen to the human body and can potentially be used by "health and wellness" applications not only from Apple, but also from other developers. Apple hopes that the Apple Watch and Healthkit will become the main forces that will give it the necessary impetus for its advance into a potentially profitable market, that of mobile health, which is also coveted by others, such as Samsung or Google.
The FTC's concerns were explicitly expressed in May by Commissioner Julie Brill, who referred to the risk of health data collected by wearables and health apps. The Commission even asked the US Congress to enact laws that would make the practices of such data brokers more transparent, as existing legislation (HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) does not cover data from health apps, even though they are "sensitive.".
Ensuring the privacy of this biometric data is now a priority for the FTC, which is examining what is happening on iOS and Android. In fact, Reuters reports that the FTC has already seen how many developers share or sell health data. According to a study by the Commission, the developers of 12 “health and fitness” apps share the data they collect with 76 different stakeholders, such as advertisers.
It is likely that restrictions will be imposed, such as requiring user consent to grant access to health data to app developers and encrypting what is stored on Apple's smartwatch. In August, Apple's privacy rules became stricter, since the data collected in Healthkit cannot be exploited by developers by promoting it for advertising purposes or, importantly, for further processing and so-called data mining to extract information, a fact that was welcomed by the head of the FTC, Edith Ramirez.
Source: news.in.gr
