You appear to be the one uninformed about the definition of human subject research. >But if they're not obtaining data about a living individual, then it's not

You appear to be the one uninformed about the definition of human subject research. >But if they're not obtaining data about a living individual, then it's not human subjects research. Sure, if you completely ignore the other half of the definition, per the NIH: https://grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects/research.htm https://grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects/research.htm > Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; They are absolutely collecting information to analyze by interacting with the individual.