Not really sure where else to post this, so going to have a punt there.
My mother wants to do one of those home DNA testing kits (23 and me etc). Beyond pricing (which I don't really give too much of a shit about) are there any real distinctions between the companies offering these services?
While my 70-odd year old mum doesn't really need to worry about getting profiled for online advertising or whatever I'd prefer to not hand her genetic material over to a company who openly sells it for profit, and I'd rather a company that does honest comparisons rather than "we'll just choose a random genetic group for that 3% we can't recognise from our database" type shenanigans.
>I'd prefer to not hand her genetic material over to a company who openly sells it for profit
Honestly from what I can tell, they all do that. I think 23andme was doing it secretly first too. I wouldn't trust anyone with that sort of data, but I'm also a paranoid fantasist so take that as you will.
I think better safe than sorry lad. There's a big data risk for negligible medical or ancestral benefit. Don't bother, and advise friends and family against it.
Thanks lads. It's a bit of a bummer as she specifically wants it for "ancestral purposes", so if they're not that accurate anyway then that's half the reasoning out the window straight off.
That said she's not exactly a great target for whatever Big Data can use her DNA for, and mine's been in the Big Police Database since I was a very naughty boy teenager.
I'll have more of a dig about and see if I can't find a less commercial genealogy lab or something.
What could actually be done with a persons genetic material?
Scapegoated by a clone?
hyper targetted attacks?
Genetic experimentation?
But the third, aren't these the kind of scenarios attributed to the imagination of paranoid-schizophrenics?
Is it more of an ethical argument than actual realistic danger to individuals?
> What could actually be done with a persons genetic material?
Once you've given away your personal data, it's very difficult to get it back. We need to consider the risks that might exist 10 or 20 years down the line, when genetic sequencing, machine learning and bioinformatics are considerably more advanced.
An insurance company might start (secretly) quoting higher premiums to people with genes that are associated with a high appetite for risk. A mortgage company might turn you down because you've got genes that predispose you to premature death. Prospective employers might look at both your CV and your DNA to decide whether you'd be a good employee.
If I'd told you twenty or thirty ago that eventually we'd all carry a listening device that connects to everyone else you know and also the government if they want, that they'd be able to predict your shopping habits, your preferences and even your routine based on what you look at on a future sort of interactive version of television, you'd probably also have called me a mentalist. I don't know the likelihood of them deploying the virus thing from Metal Gear Solid any time soon, but targeting genetic weaknesses isn't fantasy by any means even now, nor is judging your actions based on your genome. In 20 years it might genuinely be something none of us have ever thought of.
Legally yes, but there's no guarantee that they won't just illegally transfer the data offshore. The GDPR gives you strong protections against companies with something to lose, but a lot of the DNA testing startups are offering tests at below cost; their business model wholly depends on being able to sell user data.
>>4606 Couldn't a customer avert these potential dangers by giving an alternate name? Is that legal?
>>4607 >you'd probably also have called me a mentalist.
Aren't you still carrying that phone?
>>4610 So the more expensive companies might be more trustworthy, from an economic perspective.
Do businesses have to publish data on their affiliations and transaction history?
I'm sure in 20 years I'll have my genome sequenced but hopefully it'll be on a little encrypted card and cyberjackers will try and torture me for the keys.
