Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Apr 20, 2022)
Date Submitted: Dec 2, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Ethical Considerations for the Use of Consumer Wearables in Health Research
ABSTRACT
Following the UN’s High Commissioner’s request for a moratorium on the use and adoption of specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that pose serious risk to human rights, this commentary explores the current environment and future implications of using third-party wearable technologies in research for participants’ data privacy and data security. While wearables have been identified as tools in improving users’ physical and mental health and wellbeing by providing users with more personalized data and tailored interventions, the use of this technology does not come without concern. Primarily, as researchers we are concerned with enmeshment of corporate and research interests and what this can mean for participant data. By drawing on specific sections of the UN Report “The right to privacy in the digital age” we discuss the conflicts between corporate and research agendas and point out the current and future implications of the involvement of third-party companies for participant data privacy, data security, and data usage. Finally, we offer suggestions for researchers and third-party wearable developers for conducting ethical and transparent research with wearable tech. We propose that this commentary be used as a foothold for further discussions about the ethical implications of using third-party wearable tech in research.
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