Email this article to a friend

Printable Version

Articles Related to This Article: • NaturalNews launches citizen journalism program, invites writers to contribute articles for publication • Google library project named as one of ten most important emerging technologies for humanity by futurist Mike Adams • Prosecution of Google click fraud extortionist quietly dropped NaturalNews Store Specials: • Revolutionary new Hurom Slow Juicer at the lowest price on the 'net + FREE shipping! • Certified Organic Nutiva Hemp Seeds at a huge discount (+ FREE bottle of hemp oil) • Omega-3 rich Chia Seeds at under $5 / lb. See more at the NN store...

(NaturalNews) Google Health was launched with much fanfare this week, positioned by Google, Inc. as a technological solution to the rather embarrassing problem of an advanced nation still running on medical records that seem to be stuck in 1970's-era technology. The Google Health service promises to give users a free, central storehouse for all their medical records, providing a convenient way to share medical histories with doctors, insurance companies and other primary health care players.

But is Google Health secure? And is the company behind it guaranteed to protect your privacy? In this review, NaturalNews takes a critical look at Google Health and examines several areas of increasing concern. Let's start by looking at the first area of concern: Consumer privacy.

In its terms of service, Google Health openly says it may share a user's personal health records with the following groups:

• Subsidiaries, affiliated companies or other trusted businesses who process personal information for Google.

• The U.S. government, following a request of such information from the government.

• Merger or acquisition partners, if Google sells off its Google Health assets someday. Under this scenario, Google promises to "provide notice" before personal information is transferred and "becomes subject to a different privacy policy."

In other words, under Google's own terms of service, which you can read at (http://www.google.com/intl/en/priva...), Google could first get a hundred million people to enter their health records under Google Health, then it could sell off those records to a third party which might have a new privacy policy that eliminates any real right to privacy and gives the new owner of the records the right to sell such records to anyone (such as drug companies, governments, employers and more).

How would you like to find yourself going to a job interview one day, then suddenly finding out you're denied the job because your potential future employer bought your health records from this third party company that purchased them from Google? Although this is certainly not the intention of present-day Google, it remains a disconcerting possibility that's actually written right into Google's own privacy policy. Regardless of whether Google ever intends to sell your health records to someone else, the language of their privacy policy enables them to sell off the Google Health unit -- and all its records -- to any other business, government or individual at any time, with no recourse on your part. You have no right to delete your records under such a scenario. They become the "property" of the new buyer.

But would Google ever really do such a thing? That's where we take a closer look at the ethics of this company that claims to "do no evil."

Google's Partnership with Communist China and the Censorship of Search Results

Free registration is required to read the rest of this article...
Enter your email address to continue:  
Your email privacy is 100% protected by NaturalNews. We do not sell, rent or share emails.


Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

Related CounterThink Cartoons:

Related Articles: • NaturalNews launches citizen journalism program, invites writers to contribute articles for publication • Google library project named as one of ten most important emerging technologies for humanity by futurist Mike Adams • Prosecution of Google click fraud extortionist quietly dropped	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/023275_Google_Health.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/023275_Google_Health.html">Review of Google Health - Technology Achievement or Privacy Disaster?</a>