Computational Modelling, Social Media and Health-Related Datasets: Consent and Privacy Issues

Computational modelling is now being used to analyse posts on social media to predict the emergence of mental health conditions. While the aim is to develop tools for early detection and treatment of such conditions, computational modelling raises issues of user consent and privacy. The European Union has moved to regulate automated profiling of large databases and Australia has introduced a data breach notification scheme for cases where personal information held by an organisation is lost or subjected to unauthorised access or disclosure. There remains the question, however, of whether such regulation will be enough to prevent third-party access to social media and health-related datasets by those with less than benign motives. Opting out of using social media and schemes such as My Health Records may be one option to preserve privacy and avoid the use of personal data being used without consent, but that may be unattainable in a digital age.