It appears that the U of MN researchers experimented on Linux kernel developers without those developers' consent. The researchers didn't even go through their Institutional Review Board (IRB) until the experiment was done, which is not allowed. When they finished the experiment they then got approval from their IRB, and the IRB approved it even though the people being experimented on had not consented.
There are all sorts of rules when doing an experiment on humans in the US, and they generally require consent.
To be clear: I do not know all the facts in this case, and I'm not a lawyer. But I'm glad that GregKH took the "immediate ban" step, that seemed like the safest course of action with the info he had. I think experiments to see "what can slip through review" could be really valuable & important, but when humans are being experimented on, you normally need their consent first.
There are all sorts of rules when doing an experiment on humans in the US, and they generally require consent.
To be clear: I do not know all the facts in this case, and I'm not a lawyer. But I'm glad that GregKH took the "immediate ban" step, that seemed like the safest course of action with the info he had. I think experiments to see "what can slip through review" could be really valuable & important, but when humans are being experimented on, you normally need their consent first.