Ethical challenges of big data in public health

Furthermore, this novel approach builds on the idea that information relevant to public health is now increasingly generated directly by the population through their use of online services, without their necessarily having engaged with the health care system [4, 5]. [...]if individuals take personal risks in order to report events of public health importance (i.e., a farmer reporting avian flu at risk of losing his flock), those risks should be mitigated by appropriate policies (e.g., compensation) that acknowledge the societal contribution and the local/personal costs.