DeepMind's NHS trial broke medical privacy law - ICO

The UK’s Information Commission has ruled that Google-owned artificial intelligence firm DeepMind and the NHS did not fully protect patients’ data in a recent medical trial.

DeepMind, the British AI firm acquired by Google parent Alphabet in 2014, and the NHS failed to comply with data protection laws in its trial on sufferers of kidney injuries, according to the ICO.

Several shortcomings were found during an investigation into the trial, including a lack of information about how patients’ data would be used.

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham said that there was no room for error when it comes to medical data.

“Our investigation found a number of shortcomings in the way patient records were shared for this trial,” Denham said.

“Patients would not have reasonably expected their information to have been used in this way, and the Trust could and should have been far more transparent with patients as to what was happening.”

Several shortcomings were found during an investigation into the trial

The trial was conducted in order to test an alert, diagnosis and detection system for kidney diseases.

“There’s no doubt the huge potential that creative use of data could have on patient care and clinical improvements, but the price of innovation does not need to be the erosion of fundamental privacy rights,” Denham added.

DeepMind said it had welcomed the findings of the commission’s report, and added it would reassess such trials in conjunction with the NHS.

"We underestimated the complexity of the NHS and of the rules around patient data, as well as the potential fears about a well-known tech company working in health," wrote Dominic King, DeepMind's clinical lead on health, and Mustafa Suleyman, DeepMind's co-founder.

Another spokesperson for the AI company stressed that despite Google's affiliation with DeepMind, the search engine giant was in no way responsible for any mishandling of data.

"Patient data has never been - and will never be - linked to Google products or services or commercialised in any way," the spokesperson said.