Google has gained access to a huge trove of US patient data - without the need to notify those patients - thanks to a deal with a major health firm.
Google can access health records, names and addresses without telling patients, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
Among the data Google reportedly has access to under the deal are lab results, diagnoses, records of hospitalisation and dates of birth.
In a blog, Google said its work with Ascension would adhere to industry-wide regulations, such as the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 .
The company also said it would begin using Google's cloud data storage service and business applications known as G Suite.
However, Project Nightingale has already attracted criticism from those who argue that it takes away patients' control of their own data.
In the UK, Google's AI-focused subsidiary DeepMind was found to have broken the law when it failed to explain properly to patients how their data would be used in the development of a kidney disease app.
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