DNA Testing

OK. Yes I'm interested in the potential results.
But the DNA companies are currently using DNA testing as an information grab. They are (with most people's consent no doubt), sucking your DNA into a huge searchable database, easily associated with your name, with your most personal secrets of identity, heritage, genetic quirks and abnormalities, and medical issues stored away for future perusal by unknown parties.
Here are potential groups I don't want to have access to my DNA:
  • Distant relatives
  • Police / Detectives (we can talk about that more in detail)
  • Insurance companies
  • Private companies
  • Government
  • Private individuals
Even if personal information is 'stripped away' from the DNA, obviously it's a unique identifier which reveals an incredible amount of information, some with currently unforeseen implications, or implications which currently seem to be unimportant but which may be incredibly important in the future.
People are getting too used to information being leached for other purposes (notably your web browsing history being used for advertisements, targeting and direct marketing without consent), and sale of your information to others.

Why don't I want the police to search my DNA? For the same reason that I don't want them searching my car. There is ample opportunity for mistakes / malicious intent. How could this happen? What if I say someone can take your DNA sample and plant it at a crime scene. Or there are ways for it to accidentally be implicated. Just because DNA is found doesn't necessarily connect someone to a crime, though under the criminal justice system currently it's treated as if it's a slam dunk that you committed the crime. Or even worse what if they start to classify people as 'likely to commit a crime' based on their DNA. You'll just have to trust me when I say I'm not a serial killer.

It should be obvious why I don't want insurance companies digging through my DNA. It's the department of pre-illness- charging people for conditions that aren't a problem yet.

Why don't I want the government to search my DNA? Well not long ago out of control governments participated in race/genetic based persecution and genocide. I don't think that this is out of the realm of possibility for the future, for any government. The Nazis were only one example of this, and there have been more recent examples (and examples of race based persecution are still going on in this country). I want to be prepared for future threats.

For the same reason I try to keep my photo off the internet. Facial recognition has already become prevalent, and unintended and malicious / unauthorized uses of those profile pictures have already been proven to exist.

Here's the arrangement under which I would participate in DNA testing.
1. Double blind testing- identity kept separate from DNA. From the beginning. Separate companies handling testing and shipping.
2. No storing, searching, or comparing of DNA sequences. No aggregation of any data. No selling information. A simple DNA profile and comparison with DNA markers is done, information is kept private, not locally stored, and is encrypted as it is collected, only I have the decryption key.

As far as I know, no DNA testing group is doing this.


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