Regeneron is to pay $256 million in cash to acquire “substantially all” of 23andMe’s assets, including its massive biobank of around 15 million customer genetic samples and data.
Regeneron is to pay $256 million in cash to acquire “substantially all” of 23andMe’s assets, including its massive biobank of around 15 million customer genetic samples and data.
Realistically, what could a company do with the data? I can see how it could be dangerous in the hands of a nation state if someone is a politician. But otherwise, besides the gross privacy violation, im not sure I see what real harm will come of this.
Ever see Minority Report?
That, but without the psychics. Insurance companies use things called actuary tables to estimate risk. If they have your DNA, they could decide that, since you have markers for early onset Alzheimer’s, they’re going to charge you double for life insurance.
Law Enforcement could decide that, since you share some trait with other common criminals, you’re more likely to do crime, and get warrants to surveil you more closely. Maybe you don’t do crime, but you get pulled in for a crime in the neighborhood because you’re the one with the highest crime DNA score, and that’s enough to convict you. Maybe you get pulled over more often for going a little over the speed limit, because you’re being watched more closely. Maybe they just decide you’re so likely to do a crime, they imprison you proactively.
None of this is absurd; it’s all been done before. The Nazis used to evaluate people by how big their skulls were - this is Eugenics on fucking steroids, backed by the smell of legitimacy because DNA. People have wrongly gone to prison and served entire sentences because of bad DNA testing, and it’s still used.
This should worry you. It’s not hypothetical, it’s not a conspiracy theory - the potential for abuse of a database like this should concern everyone, liberal or conservative.
Like all those white supremicists who discovered they have black ancestors; only, now, all their little KKK friends know, too!
If the state starts prosecuting DNA crime they’ll just swab people they don’t need a private firm barely anyone’s used to collapse.
Dodgy American insurance firms could try and get their hands on the data no doubt, but Regeneron has to abide by the same data protection rules as 23andme.