On Friday (19), Google emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed on behalf of 1.6 million individuals regarding the transfer of medical records from a UK hospital trust to the US tech giant.
The Royal Free London NHS Trust, an entity within the public National Health Service (NHS), had shared patient data with Google's artificial intelligence company, DeepMind Technologies, back in 2015.
This collaboration aimed to develop a mobile application capable of analysing medical records and identifying acute kidney injuries.
However, in 2017, Britain's data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office, determined that the Royal Free had improperly utilised patient data by providing it to DeepMind.
In a lawsuit filed last year, Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O unit Google and DeepMind faced legal action initiated by Andrew Prismall, a patient from the Royal Free, on behalf of 1.6 million individuals.
The lawsuit alleged the misuse of private information.
During the proceedings in March, the companies contended that the case was destined to fail.
They argued that there was no likelihood of proving that the private information of all 1.6 million claimants was misused or that they held any reasonable expectation of privacy concerning the information.
On Friday, Judge Heather Williams delivered a ruling that the case should not proceed, concurring that it was "bound to fail."
"I conclude that each member of the claimant class does not have a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of their relevant medical records," she said in a written ruling.
(Reuters)
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)