https://web.archive.org/web/20020428094626/http://www.wired....
Indians are most at risk of genetic exploitation. Hiring managers won't need to ask annoying probing questions about your family to sniff out your lineage if they can just look up your DNA profile to see what caste you belong to.
And Jews were self identifying and dna isn't going to tell you if you are gay or not.
Ethnicity can be easier discovered through last name, visual clues rather then stolen hacker data.
The fears are similar to fears around your commodore 64 accidently logging into a war games scenario and destroying the world.
Most people in Russia who identify as Jewish and/or emigrated to Israel have non-Jewish last names. You really would never know if they didn't file the paperwork.
Wouldn't they use the citizenship data they have from the last 100 years? If they used 23andme data wouldn't they have floods of people from US, Canada, Australia, who could claim a new citizenship?
These tests do not do a full detailed analysis if you want that you need to find a clinic and pay thousands of dollars. For what they do tell you I wouldn't be afraid for the entire world to see.
Discovering who you are, where you came from, discovering who your relates are, what your last name is, where people with your genes live now, the backstory on how your wave of immigration came and where they settled and why has been worth it.
The information exposed by 21andme was profile and ethnicity information. I'm okay with any of that becoming public, the public part of a facebook profile shares personal data. Actually I wish more people would ask me about my ethnicity data. I think it would make a great addition as a facebook profile section and if facebook still allowed developers to create profile addons I would create one.
As an aside does anyone remember catbook addon?
You are probably aware that at least two European countries no longer collect this information, and the reasons for introducing this policy?
https://qz.com/2029525/the-20-countries-that-dont-collect-ra...
My guess would be to protect European identity from the reality. Europe has a different level of acceptance of foreigners and a history to protect. I can accept their compromise because of their political situations.
In Canada it's promoted. In the US it gets combined into American identity and promoted in Europe it's hidden.
23andme had little data on my fathers side so it split my mothers side into my family tree at the great grandfather level. I spent awhile tracing people only to discover my father and mother side seemed to be related. After going on Ancestry I was able to figure the mistake.
Myheritage had European links. 23andme North American links. Ancestry had everything. The genetic time period they match against are different. 23andme matches against 100ad while ancestry 1200ad. So if you are Celtic perhaps your people were in Spain in 100ad but in Ireland or Scotland by 1200. Using different services gives you a fuller picture and understanding of human migration and your migration. The difference from 23andme telling you you are broadly northwestern european vs Cornish/Welsh/Scottish is huge but illustrates what you match against really changes your identity.