Parents Testing Their Children’s DNA Online
Parents Testing Their Children’s DNA Online | |
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Short Title | There Is a Growing Interest in Genotyping Children Using Online Services |
Location | Global |
Date | January 2020 |
Solove Harm | Increased Accessibility, Disclosure, Intrusion |
Information | Identifying, Medical and Health, Physical Characteristics |
Threat Actors | Parents who test their children's DNA online, Genetic testing companies, Open-source databases of DNA |
Individuals | |
Affected | Children, who's parents test their DNA |
High Risk Groups | Children |
Tangible Harms | Anxiety, Lost Opportunity |
More and more often parents decide to test the DNA of their children online, using the services of companies like 23andMe.
Description
There’s a growing interest in genotyping children. Parents decide to test the DNA of their children more and more often, using the services of direct-to-customer genetic testing companies like 23andMe. After the company returns the results, they then often use the services of databases like MyHeritage and GEDmatch hoping to learn more about the family’s genealogy. Sites like GEDmatch and others are “open-source databases” on which people freely share their DNA onlineIncreased Accessibility, usually in the hopes of finding long-lost relatives.
By sharing their children’s genetic information on public websites, parents are forever exposing their personal health data.Disclosure
Upon a finding that they are at high risk for a disease, children may face negative consequences in school, the workplace, and the insurance market — not to mention experience fear and anxiety about their impending fate.
When parents test their children’s DNA before they are old enough to truly consent, those children lose their right not to know certain information. This can be interpreted as Intrusion.
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/dna-test-privacy-children.html