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submitted 8 months ago by Charger8232@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

I'm concerned about the privacy implications of DNA testing services like 23andMe or AncestryDNA. What are the potential risks of sharing our genetic data with those companies, and are there any privacy-focused alternatives available?

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[-] zach@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 8 months ago

In the US, insurance companies cannot discriminate based on your genetic data, contrary to what many people in the comments are saying.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/genetic-information/index.html

[-] livus@kbin.social 14 points 8 months ago

For now. The US is a victim of legislative capture by corporations and it's possible that in the future lobbying by insurance companies will open the door to them using some of that data.

[-] drwho@beehaw.org 2 points 8 months ago

They're spending a lot of money lobbying inside the Beltway to change that. So far it hasn't worked but it's only a matter of time.

[-] asmoranomar@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Or what? A slap on the wrist?

[-] zach@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 8 months ago

“The penalties for noncompliance with GINA range from $300,000 per incident when noncompliance is intentional and a minimum of $2500 to a maximum of $500,000, where noncompliance with the law is unintentional.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3627538/#R1

[-] asmoranomar@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

It's good that you were able to quote the regulations. You're not wrong, I'm just apathetic; the question was more rhetorical. To be clear: I don't have faith that this is strong enough to deter and/or that governing policies have enough teeth to enforce. I'd like to be wrong, but I'm not hopeful.

[-] janus2@lemmy.zip 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

in terms of corporate expenses for legal penalties that's barely a disinterested-grunt-from-parent-in-other-room, let alone a wrist slap

[-] untorquer@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

It just comes down to est. profit margin vs. risk and not some ethics about lawfulnes. If they think they can eat the fines/lawsuits then they're going to take higher profits until the hammer drops. Especially if it shows short term gains for a publicly traded company.

That said, genetic data is probably not the biggest indicator of how much an individual will cost an insurance retailer (behavior would be better) and i'm not about to sift through HIPPA law to see all that it covers.

My bias here is based insurance company behavior from back when they could descriminate based on pre-existing conditions as well as how any publicly traded company eventually functions. Etc...

[-] Dupree878@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

That’s just for health insurance though, not life insurance

this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
91 points (96.9% liked)

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