Hands off our data: the need for sovereignty in a connected world

Who actually owns our health data once it is stored in the cloud? And how do we balance the global push for open medical research with the need to protect local populations from data extraction? Kamran Abbasi sits down with Trudie Lang, Professor of Global Health Research at the University of Oxford and David Strain, Associate Professor of Cardiometabolic Health at the University of Exeter. Together, they dive into the complex ethical and legal landscape of data sovereignty - unpacking the loopholes that could allow the US government access to NHS data, and how medical research in resource poorer settings can be extractive of data. They set out the case for data sovereignty, and how it could practically work while not stifling essential international research collaboration Read the related articles on BMJ.com: The CLOUD Act: NHS data must be safeguarded from US interests by David Strain A commitment to act on data sharing by Kamran Abbasi Data sharing must evolve towards data sovereignty by Trudie Lang