George Clooney violated by 40 doctors
One of the problems that privacy zealots have in explaining privacy problems is that it sounds a little conspiratorial. LIke who would really look at your credit report or your medical record? Well, maybe you're not famous enough. Like George Clooney, for instance.
Clooney was involved in a motorcycle accident in New Jersey last month and broke a rib. He was treated at the Palisades medical center in North Bergen and released. Afterwards a scandal broke out when it was discovered that his confidential medical records were passed around the hospital. Over 40 doctors supposedly looked at Clooney's record and several lesser functionaries were suspended for a week without pay as punishment.
The lesson? If you enable people to snoop on others and make it interesting enough, they'll do it. So what will happen when Jessica Alba walks in front of one of those to-the-skin x-ray machines that TSA is installing in airports?
The solution? Toe the line punitively and treat every case of privacy violation and inappropriate data access seriously. Kudos to the hospital although they might want to whack a couple of doctors too.
Posted on October 11, 2007
