Sending your DNA to ancestry websites can be extremely interesting and is very much in right now, however are there more dangers than we think?
US DNA testing company 23andme is currently in a financial crisis, raising concerns about what will happen to the data of the 15 million worldwide customers it holds.
Time to put on your tinfoil hat as many Kiwis are concerned their genetic information could be on-sold and used for other purposes, including insurance or law enforcement.
Privacy lawyer Rick Shera says when you send off your DNA the sequence is extracted and stored in the company’s database.
“So when you do this, you agree to the terms of use in their privacy policies. By and large, these organisations are based in the United States”.
“So they own that data set. And so the privacy policies will generally often say in the event of a sale of our business, we can sell our assets, including that personal information you’ve given.”
His advice for anyone wanting to sign up for one of these sites?
“Don’t,” he said. “People have to understand the potential downsides of doing it and then balance that against the buzz of finding out you have 60% Scottish ancestry.”
