The Cost/Benefit Relationship from Medical Practice to Data Protection

Abstract

The connected world and the internet of things raise several concerns about our privacy and the storage of personal data. The enormous increase in the capability to store data (big data); the possibility to analyse these data in a short time, thanks to the recent developments of artificial intelligence such as machine and deep learning, represent both a great opportunity and a threat for the individual. Cultural differences in the different nations, here discussed, have generated different approaches to the question. Of course, big data have an incredible economical value, and private companies and governmental entities have a strong interest in having access to them, from many points of view.
The recent pandemics due to SARS COV-2 have forced the government to take action to limit the spread of the pandemics, and, even consequently to the concerns relative to own’s health, people have accepted from moderate to extended access to their private data. Several apps for contact tracing have been developed in the different countries, with different levels of intrusion also depending on specific cultural sensibilities. In the European Community an acceptable balance between privacy rights and the right to health has been reached, also thanks to the recent GDPR into action from 2018.