[postingawayonhn]

> I really have a hard time trusting anything else than the state to handle health data.

I would say I'm exactly the opposite. The less data the state has about me the better.

In reality it's probably more a concern about anyone having too much data. I don't mind different organisations having little bits but I get concerned when people want to bring it all together.

[SquishyPanda23]

> The less data the state has about me the better.

This seems to me the wrong mentality. What you ultimately care about is the leverage you have over the entity holding your data. In most cases you have more leverage over the state via voting and lobbying.

> it's probably more a concern about anyone having too much data

I agree. The issue is what you give up when you let people have that data, and how to mitigate those downsides.

> I don't mind different organisations having little bits

Sure, but realistically that's not how it will work. The point of gathering all the health data is that it's valuable to provide your health information to other businesses. This is specifically called out in the article, with the example about the gym and your doctor.

> but I get concerned when people want to bring it all together.

Bringing it all together is the whole idea. Apple may not literally give the raw data to anyone, but they will do what is functionally equivalent. They'll provide an API for third parties to make business decisions about your individual health. There is no way to do this is a privacy-preserving way.

[darawk]

> This seems to me the wrong mentality. What you ultimately care about is the leverage you have over the entity holding your data. In most cases you have more leverage over the state via voting and lobbying.

I would argue the exact opposite. I've always found private companies to be far more responsive to my needs than government.

[arvinsim]

Their responsiveness is contingent to how it affects their bottom line.

[rbinv]

Of course, but the government doesn't really have such a bottom line, so it doesn't exactly need to care.

[ambicapter]

Other than, you know, their jobs...

[scarface74]

You realize the President won the election while losing the popular vote and more voters vote Democratic than Republican in both the House and the Senate bit because of both gerrymandering and the 2 Senators per state regardless of the population, Republicans have a disproportionate number of seats?

This isn’t meant to be a partisan statement, more to the point of how the voting system works in the US.

Besides that, people aren’t going to vote based on privacy. All a politician has to do is tell “terrorism” or “think about the children” and they can pass anything they want.

Not to mention that most regulations come via agencies run by unelected officials and judges are unelected and have a lifetime appointment.

[theduder99]

have you ever been to a post office?

[riversflow]

> In most cases you have more leverage over the state via voting and lobbying.

How is this leverage at all? Apple doesn't have my health data. I have a device produced by Apple that allows me to store and share health data conveniently. The state has the unilateral authority to use violence against me. I have very very little leverage on the state vs a company that sells me a glorified filing cabinet.

> The point of gathering all the health data is that it's valuable to provide your health information to other businesses. . . They'll provide an API for third parties to make business decisions about your individual health. There is no way to do this is a privacy-preserving way.

The point is that's valuable to me, the person who the data is about. Apple already has a. privacy preserving model all they to do is follow their current model. Collect all that data for me, the person who the data is about, store it on my device, and allow me, the owner of said data to provide it to whoever I see fit. This allows me to get the best of all worlds. I have this amazing resource that tracks my activity, diet and environmental exposures and various clinical health metrics across many different information streams. If I want to share my workout routine with my insurance company to get a discount I can decide to do that, if I want to show only my doctor i can pull it up during a visit and show him. If I want to share my Xrays or medications with my personal trainer I can likewise make that decision. There is no reason for me to think that Apple will implement an API here for mass data exports because there is no reason too, I can send the data on a case by case basis. And if Apple changes their privacy policy, which I honestly find unlikely, I can delete and walk away.

[jpxw]

I also feel the exact opposite, I have almost no personal control over the state. Not to mention the relentless incompetency and bureaucracy of state institutions, which often end up covering up their own mistakes.

[rbinv]

It really should be both: (almost) no health data with private entities, as little data as possible with authorities.