article_snippet.sent: Since it was revealed that Andreas Lubitz – the co-pilot who purposefully crashed Germanwings Flight 9525, killing 150 people – had been treated for psychiatric illness, a debate has ensued over whether privacy laws regarding medical records should be less strict when it comes to professions that carry special responsibilities.
article_snippet.sent: It has been widely argued that Germany's privacy laws were to blame for the tragedy.
article_snippet.sent: The Times, for example, ran an article with the headline: 'German obsession with privacy let killer pilot fly.'
article_snippet.sent: Similarly, another article published in TIME said: 'German privacy laws let pilot 'hide' his illness from employers.'
article_snippet.sent: Strict German privacy laws which prevented doctors treating Andreas Lubitz from telling Andreas Lubitz airline about Andreas Lubitz 'suicidal tendencies' were introduced as a consequence of the Nazis.
article_snippet.sent: The findings from the investigation have prompted heated debate in Germany on a patient's right to privacy, with Chancellor Angela Merkel proposing an inquiry to re-examine German law.
article_snippet.sent: Draconian legislation was initially brought in after World War Two to prevent a repeat of government spying during the Nazi era and subsequently the Stasi secret police in East Germany.
article_snippet.sent: This extends far beyond confidential medical data, however, to stringent protection of someone's identity, meaning many German publications only referred to Lubitz as Andreas L, even after Andreas L death.
article_snippet.sent: Further data protection laws traced back to 1907, which enshrines the 'right to your own picture', also mean images can only be published with the individual's consent.
article_snippet.sent: Many in Germany are now debating whether the potential to neutralise threats to public safety should trump doctor-patient privilege.
article_snippet.sent: In Germany, medical confidentiality is supposed to be valid after death.
article_snippet.sent: Publicly disclosing Lubitz's ailment harms the public trust in doctor-patient confidentiality after death –
highlights_snippet.sent: Carissa Veliz is a philosophy graduate from Oxford University and is writing Carissa Veliz dissertation on the subject of privacy .