Baltic Turbo

"More than 60,000 people – around five percent of the Estonian population – have voluntarily participated in genome sequencing. The data is then anonymized and used in conducting comprehensive healthcare analyses. “It’s voluntary, and you also could choose commercial providers to do this,” remarks Deniss Ojastu, Head of Business Area at the globally successful software developer AS Helmes. He rhetorically adds: “But whom would you prefer to trust – a commercial company that owns your data or your national health administration where you take ownership?”

Trust in institutions, schools, the police, or the government in general is a precondition for creating democratic digital societies that work. I’ve experienced this sort of trust before in Finland. In Germany, we’re quick to dismiss smaller countries as less complex and under less public scrutiny than we are. Deniss Ojastu won’t let that slide. “We’re regularly having the same kinds of debates as Germany. Since we take them seriously, Estonia has manifold regulations and powerful barriers in place that prevent unauthorized access or data abuse. If, despite this, a physician managed to transfer your data illegally, he would be immediately stripped of his access.”"

Source: https://www.gernbotschaft.com/baltic-turbo/