• Victor Villas@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    H-h-how? HOW? do they ‘anonymize’ DNA?!?!

    If you really curious, it is possible depending on the sections of the DNA being shared and how aggregated they are. Not saying that this will be the case - it’s quite likely that this sale would be done prioritizing value instead of privacy - but it is possible. The key part is to not treat the whole DNA as a data sample, but specific sequence sections, as isolated as possible.

    And the Netflix example is instructive but not super relevant here. If you already have your SNPs in a public database out there, then yeah 23andMe might not be able to effectively anonymize your samples; but you don’t (I hope).

    • sudoshakes@reddthat.com
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      1 year ago

      All prisoners in the US, regardless of infraction, have DNA samples taken in many states.

      That is not voluntary.

      It was ruled constitutional by SCOTUS.

      If you had that done, and you have family dumb enough to use 23andme, then you just got screwed, involuntarily, twice.

    • 4dpuzzle@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      A vast majority of those millions are going to be for the identity rather than just the relevant data. Meanwhile, the genetic profiling companies, drug companies and insurance companies are sociopathic enough to lie through their noses about it.

      I have a strong feeling that the data transfer has already happened through data brokers. They are just easing the public into acceptance.