You Were Warned About Those Commercial DNA Kits

I've given my genetic information to companies that have to follow strict privacy rules. I'm talking about HIPPA laws regarding genetic testing for myself and my family members. That said, I've always been leery of 3rd party companies like 23andMe or Ancestry that want my DNA and don't seem beholden to any particular rules about what they do with my information. Seriously, I wrote about it back in 2020. Now, 23andMe is on the brink of bankruptcy and has all that useful genetic data they could sell to survive. I warned ya'll.

Could this information serve great medical purposes? Yes. You could anonymize data and study a bulk of it to see how certain genetic markers can be linked to other ones for health issues. Am I paranoid at the idea that it could be sold to advertising companies or law enforcement? Yes, because a lot of information could be in that genetic code and there is zero responsibility to privacy for 23andMe--once you signed up and spat in a tube for them you signed away your rights.

It sounds like a science-fiction concept, but imagine a company getting your genetic information and putting it in a database. This database finds you have a gene that predisposes you to really liking dark chocolate. The company sells this money to an advertisement agency with a corporation that sells chocolate as a client. One day, they trawl their data and decide to send anyone with the chocolate-loving gene a coupon for a discount on a new line of dark chocolate bars with various fun nut options. That isn't too nefarious, but things could get a lot more twisted and intrusive. 

I could be paranoid, but if I give someone all my genetic code and they don't have any privacy obligation, maybe they don't anonymize data and sell my DNA data if they get into a tight spot. I bet a few decades ago the idea of sending a company your salvia so you could find out if you're 30% Irish or such sounded outlandish, but now here we are. Your genetic code could translate to dollar signs. Be careful who gets your DNA because Lord only knows what will be possible to learn from it in the next couple of years.