The data on the online health risk - The Press

Into the Privacy Guarantor: we need more awareness and enforce high security measures

Into “is necessary to raise users’ awareness of the risks that can be run when you surf the Net or publish online information about their health, perhaps to exchange opinions with other people or to request an advisory board.” He says the guarantor of privacy, Antonello Soro, commenting Research University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Into The study highlights the risk that surfing the Net on medical issues, are disseminated sensitive data such as those on health. ‘Give too much detail, post photos and videos on the web or even become identifiable in relation to their disease – continues the Guarantor – may expose you to misuse “of this information,” especially in light of the fact that the data can be indexed by the engines general search. ” For this, we have already asked for some time to sites, blogs, forums and social networks Italians who deal with health – adds Sor o – to provide users with a specific warning, informing them about the risks of putting online health data, and especially to take strict security measures to protect these delicate data. It should be remembered that in our system the use of cookies to profile users who surf the sites, especially those that deal with health issues, it is absolutely forbidden in the absence of informed consent. ”

Into The proposal is therefore to include “risk warnings” on sites where we exchange medical information or publish data on their health, as evidenced by the Guidelines for websites dedicated to health launched by guarantor of privacy, released February 20 last in the Official Journal. The operators of these sites should provide users with a specific warning to call attention to the dangers associated with having to make themselves identifiable on the web in relation to their disease.

Into And this also into account the f act that such information may be known, thanks to search engines, by the generality of Internet users, and not only by members of the site. The user, so notified, will do so carefully and decide whether or not to insert more aware of personal data (eg name, surname, e-mail) that could reveal, even indirectly, their identity or that of third parties, as well as whether to publish photos or videos that limit the usage of identifiable people and places. The user will also be invited to give confirmation to have taken vision of the warning of risk, by ticking a box.

Into The sites requiring registration will be required also to inform users about the purposes for which the data are required, the manner of their treatment, about storage time, the right to delete, update, rectify or complete the data thus collected, as required by the Privacy Act. The Guarantor has established, finally, that the data collected by site owners must be protected by strict security measures, will remain confidential and not be disclosed to third parties, and should be handled only by authorized personnel.

Into ( ??Adnkronos )