With new technology, it is not always conceived that this is data covered by the Data Protection Regulation.
With a sports watch it is easy to track whether an athlete’s training is in line with a desired workout, but it is not always understood that the information transmitted by the smartwatch is personal data subject to privacy.
Helsingin Sanomat told a 18-year-old national team boxer on Friday Lia Pukkilan case, where the boxer found it anxious that the national team management received detailed information about his life through a sports watch that was constantly on.
In addition to exercises, many smart watches tell you the number of steps and calories consumed, as well as the time of day a person has been active, when they have sat too much, when they have gone to sleep, and when they have woken up.
With the help of online or mobile applications, sports watch information can be shared with others, such as coaches.
Pukkila would not have wanted to share the information but tended to give it. What was done with the data was also not communicated to the athlete.
That should not have been the case, as the information on the smartwatch is personal information.
Smart watch the same basic principles for data sharing as for other personal data: they must be processed in accordance with the requirements of the EU Data Protection Regulation.
According to the Data Protection Regulation, a person has the right to know how and where the data collected about him or her is used. Information sharing is voluntary.
“The crux of the idea is that the person himself must have control over how the information is used. It requires that you know what data is being collected and what it is being used for. ”
“When it comes to newer technology, it is not always immediately apparent that it is personal data,” the EDPS Anu Talus notes.
All matters regarding usage data and the time at which it is collected should be discussed throughout before the Athlete consents to the sharing of sports watch data.
“In order to analyze sports scores, a coach may need to talk about the data with others as well. The athlete must be told with whom the information will be shared. ”
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The sharing of smartwatch data is subject to the same basic principles as other personal data.
Personal information According to Talus, the basic premise of collection is that they are collected as little as possible and kept for as little time as possible.
“If data is collected for a specific race, for example, then it should be deleted. In sports, monitoring is likely to be longer, but it is essential for the athlete to know how long the data will be collected. ”
Data protection regulations oblige data to be stored properly.
“Data should be kept secure. For example, they should not hang on paper tables. ”
Finland Head of the Olympic Committee Rainer Anttila emphasizes that the athlete himself realizes the personal data in question.
“If an athlete wants to pass on information, then he or she knows how to do it consciously. As these are often young people, the responsibility should also be at the receiving end so that the matter is explained to the athlete. ”
It should also be noted that the permission to use the data can be revoked at any time. At the end of the coaching relationship, the data collected should be discarded.
“Permission is given, but it must also be able to be taken away. When the cooperation ends, in principle, only the athlete has the information, not the others. ”
In the Olympic Committee data protection issues have been considered from many angles.
In addition to the legal aspect, technical tools are being developed for the secure management of personal data. Such tools include, for example, licensing schemes for data collected from elite sports.
The Olympic Committee also assists its member organizations in administrative matters.
“We train club developers and people who work with clubs. Part of the good governance of the club is that data protection issues need to be considered. ”
Read more: Boxer Lia Pukkila, 18, got tired of the constant hunger crashes and exchanged Finnish nets for the Israeli national team: “I would just like to eat normally”
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