Google Starts Removing Health Records from Its Search Index
There's always a limit as to when technology can still be counted as assistive instead of invasive. Google has proven to test the line when recent reports indicate that people could now search for private medical records. At the risk of individual privacy and confidentiality, the tech company has begun to rectify the situation by amending its policy regarding personal information.
According to reports, the change was made recently, and Google took action by removing medical records from its categories of online content that people can have access to. The added line in the tech giant's personal information policy specifically targeted medical records and labeled such information as "confidential" and "personal." In the policy, Google also removes information that contain national or government identification numbers, credit card and back account numbers, and signatures.
In recent years, Google has had to rectify its policies in light of the events that followed. This included an incident wherein people used the platform to upload nude or explicit images without the concerned party's consent in order to exact revenge. Even more recently, last December, a pathology lab in India mistakenly uploaded the records of 43,000 patients who were tested for HIV. The records were revealed to have come from Google's search index.
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Considering the rare instances at which Google chooses to modify its removal policy, the actions undertaken were done quietly and without much awareness in the virtual world. This could be because of Google's mission to allow people to have access to the things they need, but given that health records contain sensitive information, the tech company has allowed concerned citizens to send an email requesting to have theirs removed from the search index.
Because of Google's undeniable domination in the internet world, people are advised to proceed cautiously when disclosing information virtually. In this regard, health records contain full names, birthdays, and addresses that can endanger not just the privacy of the person but also their safety.
