There is no way to know what a buyer will want to do with the reams of genetic information it has collected. Customers, meanwhile, still have no way to change their underlying genetic data.
    • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      64·
      11 days ago

      I’ve been telling people since this dna testing started that sooner or later that data will be for sale, an insurance company will buy it, and then get used against people to increase their health insurance rates or deny claims.

      But I’m a crazy conspiracy theorist according to everyone ;)

      Same reason I don’t want to buy a new car anymore…

      • Telorand@reddthat.com
        23·
        11 days ago

        Same reason I don’t want to buy a new car anymore…

        Because of the “driving behavior” data that gets sent out via secret cell connections and bought by insurance companies?

        • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          12·
          10 days ago

          Yup. Go ahead and try turning that cell phone radio thing off. Why do you need an app for remote start? Why can’t it be on the keyfob anymore? But again, nothing to see here - just the continued enshittification of everything.

          • Auli@lemmy.caEnglish
            4·
            10 days ago

            I just pulled the fuse. Problem solved. Phone start doesn’t work but never used it.

          • Telorand@reddthat.com
            11·
            10 days ago

            Yes, unfortunately. I dunno if it’s a global thing or just in the US, but several years ago, they started sending your car’s computer data to insurance companies, who then use it to determine how well you drive and what insurance rates they want to give you.

            It’s really scummy.

            • Auli@lemmy.caEnglish
              3·
              10 days ago

              All cars for awhile. Mozilla released a privacy report a year or two ago and it seems nobody cared. Which is why they can do this stuff.

      • pHr34kY@lemmy.world
        14·
        10 days ago

        Even if a relative has shared their DNA, it can be used to make some fairly safe assumptions about yours.

        My car’s computer doesn’t transmit. It doesn’t log anything more than engine fault codes. That’s how I like it.

  • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.ml
    48·
    10 days ago

    I knew the whole idea of letting a company get your genetic fingerprint was a bad idea from the start. Being curious about my ancestry wasn’t worth it.

    • The Menemen@lemmy.ml
      17·
      10 days ago

      Hmm.

      One of the notable issues is that this process also won’t delete all of your data — according to 23andMe’s privacy disclosure, your genetic information, date of birth, and sex will be retained for an undisclosed amount of time to comply with the company’s legal obligations,

      • biofaust@lemmy.world
        6·
        10 days ago

        A merger or liquidation is not a valid purpose to store personal, and especially Art. 9, data, as covered by the legal basis of legal obligations, according to GDPR. So, if you are in Europe, they would have to delete it.

  • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
    21·
    9 days ago

    I hate this understatement so fucking much. No, those 15 million are just the people that directly gave their dna to 23 & me.

    In reality, you only need to sample the genetic data for a small sample of the population to get the genetic information for the majority of the population. These people have relatives, and 23 & me has their data, too. They have most of ours.

    Saying it just affects those 15 million is such an abysmal misunderstanding of genetics.

    • harsh3466@lemmy.ml
      3·
      9 days ago

      That’s what pisses me off. I’d never give my data willing, but it’s unwillingly given through any relatives that did do this.

      • Isaac@waterloolemmy.caEnglish
        6·
        9 days ago

        While I do agree its a bit whack, I question if everything needs 100% safety to be legal?

        If someone offers a dangerous thing and you sign a waiver, maybe motocross, if you get injured is it the owners fault? Why should an individual be free from onus?

          • Isaac@waterloolemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            9 days ago

            Yea that’s kinda what I was thinking. Digital safety should be up to the individual, big companies should be fined and held accountable to the data they collect.

            Its why I’m on Lemmy, I host my own instance and thus I own the data. I’ve moved my email and cloud backups to instances I own as well. I understand I’m a bit privileged that I can do such things, but I plan on helping others setup their own needs online if I can.

            Unfortunately we’ve been on autopilot just taking online products and folding them into our lives without much forethought to the outcomes. Didn’t know democracy was at threat, but with hindsight it makes sense. Power is moving up the chain of command and could be lost to us labourers for the foreseeable future unless we take it back through our data.

    • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
      10·
      9 days ago

      What about those of us who are related to the people who took the test, and never consented to the t&c? They have our data, too.

    • renzev@lemmy.world
      2·
      9 days ago

      “The fuck else were these people expecting” is also my visceral reaction whenever shit like that happens, but if I think about for a bit longer, I realize that it’s not much different than saying “The fuck else were you expecting” to a rape victim who went alone into a dark alley. Sure, people are stupid for engaging with this obvious scam, but the bad guy is still the scammer, not the victims.

    • blind3rdeye@lemm.ee
      2·
      9 days ago

      I don’t think it is reasonable to expect every individual to become a privacy / legal expert. I think people should have reasonable protections and assurances given to them without needing to study the details of everything they do on a case-by-case basis.

      We have laws about what food can and cannot be sold - so that individuals don’t have to personally test and monitor every product for safety. Privacy & data could be done like that too.

  • melsaskca@lemmy.ca
    5·
    9 days ago

    You can remove the data yourself but you need to log in with biometrics. A retinal scan, a face recognition scan and a fingerprint. /s

  • udc@lemmy.world
    3·
    9 days ago

    Does whoever purchase the company’s assets have full rights to the DNA data though? Wouldn’t there be some kind of restriction for that kind of thing?