Sovereignty, sanctions, and data sharing under international law.

Pathogen samples and scientific data are bargaining chips in a global argument about who gets what in a pandemic.

A Literature Review on the GDPR, COVID-19 and the Ethical Considerations of Data Protection During a Time of Crisis.

OBJECTIVE: This survey article presents a literature review of relevant publications aiming to explore whether the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has held true during a time of crisis and the implications that arose during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHOD AND RESULTS: Based on the approach taken and the screening of the relevant articles, the results focus on three themes: a critique on GDPR; the ethics surrounding the use of digital health technologies, namely in the form of mobile applications; and the possibility of cross border transfers of said data outside of Europe. Within this context, the article reviews the arising themes, considers the use of data through mobile health applications, and discusses whether data protection may require a revision when balancing societal and personal interests. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, although it is clear that the GDPR has been applied through a mixed and complex experience with data handling during the pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed shown that it was a test the GDPR was designed and prepared to undertake. The article suggests that further review and research is needed to first ensure that an understanding of the state of the art in data protection during the pandemic is maintained and second to subsequently explore and carefully create a specific framework for the ethical considerations involved. The paper echoes the literature reviewed and calls for the creation of a unified and harmonised network or database to enable the secure data sharing across borders.

International transfers of personal data for health research following Schrems II: a problem in need of a solution.

On 16 July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued their decision in the Schrems II case concerning Facebook's transfers of personal data from the EU to the US. The decision may have significant effects on the legitimate transfer of personal data for health research purposes from the EU. This article aims: (i) to outline the consequences of the Schrems II decision for the sharing of personal data for health research between the EU and third countries, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; and, (ii) to consider certain options available to address the consequences of the decision and to facilitate international data exchange for health research moving forward.

[The responsible use and dissemination of information in a pandemic: an ethical imperative]. / Uso y difusión responsable de la información en pandemia: un imperativo ético.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is producing an unprecedented impact in the different spheres of life, at the same time that it has highlighted the importance that the Bioethics discipline has in analyzing and deliberating of emerging ethical challenges, before making reasonable and prudent decisions. The management and communication of information on this crisis has not been properly addressed, where it is considered that its negative effects may lead not only to interfere with the communication channels with citizens but also affect the expected adherence of the population to the indications that they need to follow. This issue is especially complex when experiencing a period of information explosion, a phenomenon called 'infodemic' by the World Health Organization. This article, claiming the ethical and legal imperative to act responsibly in collecting, using, and disse minating the information that helps any authority that plays a social function, proposes a series of recommendations to achieve its effectiveness in practice.

[Measures to contain gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Medidas de contención de la violencia de género durante la pandemia de COVID-19.

Crises, emergencies and times of unrest have been linked to increased interpersonal violence, including violence against women. Following the declaration of alarm status and quarantine, different measures have been implemented to mitigate the possible effect of gender violence (Contingency Plan against Gender-Based Violence in Coronavirus Crisis or Royal Decree Law on Emergency Measures). This document reviews the measures adopted so far by the government of Spain, the autonomous governments and the initiatives formulated in different countries. In the absence of concrete economic measures to date, and the scenario of economic uncertainty, we conclude that it is not possible to prevent gender-based violence in a comprehensive way, without considering the increase in unemployment, temporary and instability employment, economic dependency or the overload of household chores and reproductive tasks, among other elements that facilitate it.

Balancing health privacy, health information exchange, and research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 infection poses serious challenges to the healthcare system that are being addressed through the creation of new unique and advanced systems of care with disjointed care processes (eg, telehealth screening, drive-through specimen collection, remote testing, telehealth management). However, our current regulations on the flows of information for clinical care and research are antiquated and often conflict at the state and federal levels. We discuss proposed changes to privacy regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act designed to let health information seamlessly and frictionlessly flow among the health entities that need to collaborate on treatment of patients and, also, allow it to flow to researchers trying to understand how to limit its impacts.