Purpose and Scope
This policy applies when submitted or published work contains information about human participants, patients, research subjects, families, communities, or other individuals whose autonomy, confidentiality, privacy, or identifiability may be affected by publication.
It complements the Treata Human Research Ethics policy. Ethical approval and informed consent to participate in research do not automatically authorize publication of identifiable personal information.
Informed Consent and Respect for Autonomy
Where informed consent is required for research participation, it should be obtained through a process appropriate to the study, population, and legal and ethical context. Consent should be voluntary and based on information sufficient for a reasonable participant to understand what participation involves.
Waiver or alteration of consent should be supported by the appropriate ethics or governance process where required. Authors should report relevant waivers transparently rather than implying that consent was obtained when it was not.
Consent for Publication
When a person could reasonably be identified from a case description, photograph, pedigree, video, audio recording, rare condition, location, chronology, or combination of details, authors should obtain appropriate consent for publication unless a lawful and ethically justified exception applies.
Consent to clinical care, research participation, or data collection should not be assumed to include consent for publication. Journals may request confirmation or documentation of publication consent while avoiding unnecessary collection of sensitive personal records.
Identifiability and De-Identification
Removing names or direct identifiers may not be sufficient to prevent identification. Authors should consider indirect identifiers and the possibility that multiple details can be combined to identify a participant.
Information that is not scientifically necessary should be omitted or generalized where doing so does not distort the research record. Data should not be altered deceptively merely to create an appearance of anonymity.
Images, Multimedia and Clinical Material
Facial images, distinctive physical features, diagnostic images containing identifiers, audio, video, and other multimedia can create particular privacy risks. Cropping or masking may reduce identifiability but does not necessarily eliminate the need for consent.
Authors should ensure that image processing intended to protect identity does not alter clinically or scientifically relevant information.
Children and People with Limited Decision-Making Capacity
Additional care is required where participants are children or cannot provide legally or ethically sufficient consent themselves. Permission from an authorized representative and, where appropriate, assent from the participant may be required according to applicable standards.
Editors should consider the participant’s welfare and privacy independently of whether a legally authorized person has agreed to publication.
Sensitive and Stigmatizing Information
Information concerning health, genetics, sexuality, violence, legal status, migration, ethnicity, location, rare disease, or other sensitive matters may create harms even when direct identifiers are removed. Authors should minimize unnecessary disclosure and explain protections where relevant.
Public-interest or scientific value does not automatically override participant privacy. Any exception should have a clear ethical and legal basis.
Data Sharing and Privacy
Open-science and data-sharing expectations must be balanced against consent, confidentiality, law, ethics approval, and legitimate participant protections. Sensitive human data should not be made openly accessible merely to satisfy a general preference for openness.
When access is restricted, the data-availability statement should explain the nature of the restriction and, where appropriate, a legitimate route for controlled access.
Editorial Assessment and Documentation
Editors may request clarification about consent, de-identification, ethics approval, or publication authorization when a manuscript raises privacy concerns. Requests should be proportionate and should avoid creating unnecessary repositories of sensitive participant information.
Where documentation is required, it should be handled confidentially and retained only according to legitimate editorial, legal, and record-management needs.
Post-Publication Privacy Concerns
If a credible privacy or consent problem is identified after publication, the journal should assess the risk to affected individuals promptly. Appropriate action may include correction, redaction, restriction of particular material, replacement of files, or in exceptional circumstances removal.
Actions should balance participant protection with preservation of the scholarly record and should be explained publicly to the extent compatible with privacy and legal obligations.
Journal Implementation and Version Control
This policy is publisher mandatory. Journals may impose stronger discipline-specific requirements for case reports, clinical images, genetics, qualitative research, multimedia, or other sensitive content.
Material changes should be versioned and preserved. This policy should be read together with Human Research Ethics, Research Data, Image Integrity, and Corrections policies.
Version Control
Version 1.0. This page is the canonical publisher-level text for the current version. Material revisions should be versioned and dated, while superseded versions remain identifiable so that historical applicability can be determined.