Google collected, without authorization, the medical data of millions of Americans, according to an exclusive Monday edition of The Wall Street Journal, which quoted internal data and knowledgeable sources.

The collection of data is part of a Google initiative named Nightingale Project, through which the company gathers patient information through medical company Ascencion, the largest catholic firm of its type, and whose headquarters are located in Saint Louis, Missouri.

According to The Journal, the information that Google has gathered includes the “analysis’ results, medical diagnoses and hospital records, among others,” of millions of people. Around 150 people could have access to said data.

Among the patient data, names, dates of birth, ethnicity, medical history and treatments are included. Neither the doctors or patients at the Ascension medical network were aware of this situation, said The Journal.

The agreement was signed last year, in secret, though the exchange of information between Google and Ascension increased this summer, according to the documents gathered by The Wall Street Journal. Though said agreement, Google allegedly has access to the personal data of dozens of millions of North Americans living in 21 of the country’s 50 states.

Google is, supposedly, using the data in order to build new software which, backed by A.I. and automated learning systems, can suggest changes to a patient’s treatment.

According to the agreement, the data of all Ascension patients could eventually be uploaded into the world’s largest search engine’s cloud. The modus operandi of the project is completely legal and follows the “company’s strict requisites for data handling”, said Ascension this past Monday, when asked to comment on the situation.

The software will allow providers to browse a patient’s electronic health register and even suggest changes in treatment. The files could be browsed by specific categories, and will be able to create graphics with the provided data, such as a history of blood exam analysis, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

Ascension claimed that Google will not be able to use the data for any other purpose besides creating a tool for their doctors. In a letter sent to The Wall Street Journal, Google defended the project claiming that it adheres to federal law regarding the protection of medical data. The company’s aim is to “potentially improve results, reduce costs and save lives,” according to Tariq Shaukat, president of Google Cloud and the man behind the press note.