NHS trusts shared patient data; report claims ICO failed to protect health data
The Guardian reports the websites of 20 U.K. National Health Service trusts are collecting browser information and sharing details about patients' medical conditions, appointments and treatments with Facebook through a Meta Pixel tool. The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office is investigating. A report published by the Open Rights Group claims the ICO failed to act in response to government breaches of data protection regulations related to the COVID-19 health programs NHS Test and Trace, NHS Contact Tracing App and NHS Datastore. In a statement, the ICO said it disagrees with the report, noting its "priority during the pandemic was to ensure organisations understood how data protection law could facilitate action at a time of emergency."