Shared Sight, the programme through which implant wearers donate anonymised vision data to research, has passed 60,000 donors and published its first independent audit.
The audit, carried out by an external firm chosen by the board’s Data and Ethics Committee, tested how Shared Sight removes donors’ identities, implant serial numbers and locations from samples, and how it blurs the faces of other people. It found that the method works as described. It also made seven recommendations, including clearer consent information for donors with low literacy, faster confirmation of deletion requests and a public register of every project that receives data. The Foundation has accepted all seven.
The Foundation has published the audit in full, with its response to each recommendation and a date for each change. The first, clearer consent information in Swahili and Tagalog, will be in place by the end of the year.
The audit covers Shared Sight only. Diagnostic data that implants report to their makers, including through aftercare clinics, was outside its scope.