GDPR and Wearable Technology: Protecting Personal Health Data
The rapid rise of wearable technology has revolutionised how individuals track their health and fitness, with devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and medical monitoring systems becoming mainstream. Whether it’s tracking daily steps, monitoring heart rates, or even measuring the quality of sleep, these wearables offer unprecedented insights into personal health and wellbeing. However, alongside the benefits of this convenient technology comes the question of protecting personal data, particularly within the intricacies of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe.
While the GDPR was implemented to strengthen data privacy and give individuals better control over their personal data, wearable technology adds a unique challenge to both users and companies. This article explores how the GDPR applies to wearables and what it means for protecting health data in this age of connected devices.
The Intersection of Wearable Technology and Health Data
Wearable devices have evolved significantly since the early days of simple pedometers. Modern devices can now track a broad range of physiological metrics such as heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, and even stress levels. As these devices have become more sophisticated, they have also stepped into the realm of collecting health-related data, sometimes rivaling traditional medical equipment in their capabilities.
This data allows individuals to make informed decisions about their health, while healthcare professionals may even use data from wearables to enhance patient care. However, health data, by its very nature, is incredibly sensitive, and its misuse—or even unauthorised access—can have harmful consequences. Thus, securing this data properly is paramount.
Under the GDPR, “health data” falls under the special category of personal data, requiring more stringent protection because of its sensitive nature. This regulation applies to nearly any company processing this type of data within the European Union (EU), and to those outside the union offering services to EU citizens.
GDPR Protections and Implications for Wearable Data
The GDPR offers robust protections for individuals, with the overarching goal of ensuring that personal data is collected, processed, and stored with respect to fundamental rights and freedoms. Wearable technology companies face a number of specific challenges in complying with this layered regulation. Key concepts to consider include the lawful basis for processing, consent, data minimisation, transparency, and accountability.
One of the core tenets of the GDPR is data minimisation, meaning only the necessary data should be collected and processed. Given the vast capabilities of wearables, which continuously collect various data points, there is a risk of over-collection, even when users only rely on the device for a single purpose like step tracking. Companies must ensure they are not analysing unnecessary data beyond what the user has agreed to, preventing overreach and reducing risks associated with data storage.
Consent, too, must be obtained clearly and unambiguously, which can prove complicated for companies in the wearable tech industry that deal with a broad range of data sources. Users not only want assurances that their health data is safe, but they need to understand exactly how it’s being used, shared, and stored.
In the event of a data breach, wearable technology companies are obligated under GDPR to report the violation to the data supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. If the breach poses a high risk to individual data subjects, those individuals must also be informed promptly.
Consent Challenges in Wearable Technology
Consent is often highlighted as one of the most difficult parts of GDPR compliance for wearable technology companies. In theory, obtaining consent seems simple: users are explicitly informed and asked to agree to terms. In practice, however, it becomes more convoluted.
Wearables capture data almost constantly, even passively. For example, a user may wear a fitness tracker primarily to monitor their step count, but the device may also be monitoring their heart rate, sleep patterns, and movement patterns. In such cases, obtaining informed consent for everything the wearable is tracking can be a challenge. Additionally, once the data is collected, wearable tech providers or third-party service providers may use algorithms to derive insights or make predictions about the user’s health status. Does the initial consent extend to these potential future uses?
To complicate the process further, companies need to ensure that consent is revocable at any time. If a user decides to stop wearing the device or withdraws their consent to data collection and processing, the wearable tech providers must cease data collection and take measures to delete previously gathered personal data. The seamless nature of wearables makes these practices harder to implement than in more contained, traditional platforms.
Data Portability and Control Over Personal Health Data
One of the hallmark features of GDPR is the right to data portability. This right allows users to obtain their personal data in a commonly used and machine-readable format and, if they so choose, move their data between service providers.
For individuals using wearable tech for personal health monitoring, this may be particularly important. Someone who has years of health and fitness data collected via a particular wearable may want to transfer this information to another provider or use personal data from different devices cohesively. This right is applicable to wearable tech companies that handle personal data based on user consent or the execution of a contract.
In theory, this allows users to have better continuity and control over their health data. In practice, however, ensuring that the data is transferable and interpretable by different systems can present technical challenges for companies. Wearable technology companies need to invest in infrastructure and interoperability to meet such obligations.
The Role of Third Parties and Wearable Tech Data
Many wearable technology companies do not handle all data processing activities in-house but rely on third-party service providers—whether for cloud storage, data analytics, or personalisation algorithms. Under the GDPR, this raises additional concerns since companies are responsible not only for their own practices but also the practices of their partners.
Wearable tech providers must ensure that third parties abide by GDPR requirements and only process data for designated purposes—as specified in their agreements. Moreover, third parties who handle special categories of data must also provide assurances about their security practices, and in case of a breach, they must inform the wearable tech provider immediately.
This leads to another issue: geographic location. If the third-party provider operates outside the EU—especially in countries that do not have strict privacy regulations that align with the GDPR—businesses must implement safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, to ensure compliant data transfer.
Health Data Security Measures for Wearables
Given the increasing sophistication of cybercrime, ensuring the security of health data coming from wearable technology compounds the complexity of GDPR compliance. Encryption and pseudonymisation are two essential mechanisms detailed in GDPR to ensure that, even if there’s a breach, personal data remains protected.
Data encryption transforms the information into a secure format that prevents unauthorized users from accessing its full context. Encrypting wearable data—especially when stored or transmitted to a server—is often a company’s first layer of defence.
Meanwhile, pseudonymisation involves separating personally identifiable information (PII) from the data so that individual users cannot be easily identified. If such steps fail and a breach occurs that threatens individual rights, the organisation must be able to quickly detect and report it according to GDPR rules.
Summary and Looking to the Future
The merging of wearable technology with healthcare innovations has created immense opportunities to boost personal health management. Nevertheless, it brings along a trove of responsibilities in handling sensitive personal data. The GDPR was designed to create transparency, accountability, and security in data handling. While these rules are necessary to protect individuals, they also introduce unique challenges to developers of wearable technology.
Wearable tech providers must tread carefully in collecting and processing health data by obtaining proper consent, ensuring data minimisation, and securing personal information against breaches. At the same time, they need to ensure they develop systems that support data portability, transparency, and accountability not just from within their own organisation but also for any third parties involved.
As health technology continues to evolve rapidly, data protection laws may adapt even further to reflect the needs and vulnerabilities of an ever more connected populace. Both businesses and citizens should remain vigilant regarding the intersection between technology and privacy rights, understanding that compliance is not just about adherence to legal standards but about upholding the fundamental rights of individuals. Through proactive measures, such as clear consent practices, encryption protocols, and regular security reviews, wearable tech companies can ensure they meet GDPR requirements while preserving public trust.