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One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

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Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#91

Post by usaphp »

AllegedAlec wrote: post #53
usaphp wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or a life insurance corporation seeing that you have predisposition for heart disease, and refusing to provide services to you. I don't get your example. It's a private company and has a right to decide what risks it should take...Unless there is a government control over life insurance rules - why would an insurance company risk losing money? It's the same as charging an 80 year old man higher premium than a 20 ye…

Because perfect information makes insurances useless. Insurances work because we know that most people have roughly the same chance, plus or minus a bit, to get royally fucked in life by disease, acts of God, human maliciousness and all that. That means that when someone gets the rough end of the stick, the entire group helps to pay to keep them on their feet. If we have perfect (or near-perfect) knowledge, what woul…

> That means that when someone gets the rough end of the stick, the entire group helps to pay to keep them on their feet.

That's exactly what I meant, government should be that entity that helps those on the rough end of the stick. Riding on the misinformation of life insurance company is not a solution either

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#92

Post by colordrops »

LinuxBender wrote: post #13

The term "At Home" is very disingenuous. Spitting in a tube at home and then mailing your DNA to a lab is not At Home. A proper at-home test would be a kit that allows you to decode your DNA at home without a single strand DNA or byte of data landing on a system that does not belong to you.

How long until this is feasible? I've heard of DNA sequencing machines for $2k, but are not easy or reliable.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#93

Post by TomK32 »

oh_sigh wrote: post #75
apo wrote: post #62

Few people taking theses tests understand or care about the privacy-destroying effect of what they're doing to themselves and their families. For example, this is from the AncestryDNA (different company) terms of service: By submitting User Provided Content to AncestryDNA, you grant AncestryDNA and the Ancestry Group Companies a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, sublicensable, transferable license to host, transfer…

Personally, I'm okay if my DNA sample helps catch a cousin, brother, or other family member that is a murderer/rapist/etc. Less okay with them using my sample for promotional material, but I've never really seen that done except for people who clearly consent(ie by starring in a commercial or photo shoot for the company).

Until false positives land you in prison. https://gizmodo.com/when-bad-dna-tests-lead-to-false-convict...

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#94

Post by EliRivers »

avip wrote: post #76
wonderwonder wrote: post #4

I am torn on this, as on the one hand it does violate privacy to a very large degree and provide massive power to the government. Things I am very much against. On the other hand, essentially all this does is provide law enforcement a means to potentially quickly identify violent criminals via physical traits as opposed to the contents of their mind such as forcing someone to unlock a phone which I am very against. A…

I'd happily put my DNA on public record if it promotes scientific research. I honestly don't understand the privacy concerns here for the lawful citizen.

Place; Amsterdam. Date; 27th of March, 1943. Objective; destroy the records identifying the 70000 Jewish people living in Amsterdam.

They were lawful citizens too. The law was to identify them and ship them out. Do you understand their privacy concerns?

Can you promise that this won't happen again? Can you assure us that no future group will use the records for this sort of thing? I believe it will happen again. I believe it can happen here. I'm not keen on making it easier for them.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#95

Post by refurb »

est31 wrote: post #39

To my knowledge, in California, a genetic sample has to be recovered and stored of every baby born? The archive is run by the state government. So why do they not use this registry that they already have full control over, but the data from the DNA company?

I don’t believe that test does the same level of sequencing that 23andMe does.

It basically tests for a few dozen genetic diseases. Diseases where if it’s caught early, the child has a chance at curtailing the negative consequences of the disease (they don’t test for diseases with no treatments).

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#96

Post by admiralEyebrows »

vincnetas wrote: post #5
odorousrex wrote: post #2

I really can't tell if we are headed towards a "1984" dystopia, a "Brave New World" dystopia, a Black Mirror "Nosedive" dystopia, or now a "GATTACA" dystopia. It seems like we're headed to a horrible hybrid combination of all of the above.

I would bet for "brave new world", because there's plenty of places ("islands") to leave a modern society and live your life without google, DNA tests, antibiotics or anything else.

Sure you could live your life with the perception that you're not participating in those features of modern society, but that won't stop those same "features" from acting on you. Or do you think Google will stop prying and respect your "Right to be Forgotten" when you recede into the jungle?

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#97

Post by tbyehl »

laken wrote: post #58
wonderwonder wrote: post #4

I am torn on this, as on the one hand it does violate privacy to a very large degree and provide massive power to the government. Things I am very much against. On the other hand, essentially all this does is provide law enforcement a means to potentially quickly identify violent criminals via physical traits as opposed to the contents of their mind such as forcing someone to unlock a phone which I am very against. A…

The problem with using DNA to identify someone in crime is that we leave DNA everywhere. See this case for example: https://www.wired.com/story/dna-transfer-framed-murder/

Came here to mention that same article. The more important point, to my view, is that the DNA we shed doesn't necessarily stay put.

DNA transference, law enforcement access to large DNA databases, familial matching, and advances in extracting DNA from trace samples make for a scary combination. Lukis Anderson was damned lucky that the person who inadvertently transferred his DNA to a crime scene could be identified.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#98

Post by oh_sigh »

TomK32 wrote: post #93
oh_sigh wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'm okay if my DNA sample helps catch a cousin, brother, or other family member that is a murderer/rapist/etc. Less okay with them using my sample for promotional material, but I've never really seen that done except for people who clearly consent(ie by starring in a commercial or photo shoot for the company).

Until false positives land you in prison. https://gizmodo.com/when-bad-dna-tests-lead-to-false-convict...

That is a general problem with DNA tests, regardless of how samples are collected or potential perpetrators are identified. And it seems like the solution is known and accepted by the courts now, at least in Taiwan: "don't rely on just 17 markers when performing DNA matching tests"

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#99

Post by ChuckMcM »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #68
ChuckMcM wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who their relatives are. One tool of political assassination is to out the sibling of the { conservative | liberal } party candidate.

I would think that if they had any connection with them, there would be a Facebook link. If there is not even a Facebook connection, I doubt that the fact that a politician has sibling that they don't really keep in touch with is going to be a big deal.

But just because you know the names of the parents of someone doesn't mean that you know they happen to be cousins.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#100

Post by andrei_says_ »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #84
telchar wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Not that I plan on being involved in any such crimes (necessary disclaimer?) but a family member of mine submitted their DNA to one of these services. Now it's irrelevant whether I submit mine or not because it's as good as in there anyway. Feels real good having your rights signed away by someone else...

What rights? Surely if you have rights to your DNA, then your family member has rights to their DNA. It’s just an unfortunate consequence of how DNA works.

No, it’s an unfortunate consequence of how the dna test provider treats everyone’s data.

It’s incredibly empowering for abuse and completely disrespectful to the individual. The assymetry is staggering.

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