SO THE deal struck over patient data between the Royal Free Foundation NHS Trust and AI pioneer DeepMind "failed to comply with" the law. That's the long-awaited verdict of the regulator charged with upholding UK data protection rules. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the trust, part of the UK's national health service, erred in four ways. It did not examine the privacy implications of the agreement closely enough. It failed to tell patients about the deal or offer an opt-out before handing over their records.

So the data deal between Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and DeepMind "failed to comply with" the law. So says the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator charged with upholding data protection rules. The deal, the ICO said, erred in several ways. Royal Free should have notified its patients before handing their data to DeepMind, giving them a chance to opt out.