23ANDME DNA TESTS and WARNING ABOUT PRIVACY : DELETE YOUR INFORMATION NOW

CLICK ON THE LABEL 23andme to bring up previous posts that include this topic.

23andMe has gone bankrupt and your personal privacy and that of your children - relatives - is at risk. This could effect 15 million people. Since the company is up for sale, it's reasonable to think that your DNA is what would make it interesting to a buyer...

NPR ORG : HOW TO DELETE YOUR 23ANDME GENETIC INFORMATION
Steps to delete are at the link above.

Excerpt: Bonta also provided this advice for destroying your test sample and revoking permission for genetic data to be used for research :

If you previously opted to have your saliva sample and DNA stored by 23andMe, but want to change that preference, you can do so from your account settings page, under "Preferences."

If you previously consented to 23andMe and third-party researchers to use your genetic data and sample for research, you may withdraw consent from the account settings page, under "Research and Product Consents."

DNA GENEALOGY and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER MURDER CASE : IS THE DNA ENOUGH? CAUTIONS ON THE USE OF DNA SERVICES

DAILY MAIL UK - KOHBERGER IDAHO TRIAL UPDATE 

I've been following this murder case, perhaps uncharacteristically so, since the four college students in Idaho were found stabbed to death in their close-to-campus rental house late last fall.  Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at another university across state lines but only about 20 minutes away by vehicle, was arrested as the only suspect about a month later.  The crime-investigation buffs all over the world, including several who run crime-oriented YouTube channels immediately got interested in the case. My concern was and is that almost everything I have heard and read has him guilty before being proven so.  Can he get a truly fair trial?  I read that there have been over 40,000 articles and videos about him and even those that have people who should know better - such as FBI agents and police detectives - talk about him as if this were so.

It's IMPORTANT.  Any of us could be arrested for a crime we did not commit and lack the resources for our legal defense.  Any of us could be falsely accused of anything. So this is a test case for what happens in today's world of easy information and world wide coverage.

Meanwhile there are literally many thousands of unsolved murders in the United States that get no attention. 

Bit by bit his defense attorney or his defense has provided information that would indicate that Kohberger may very well be innocent of the crimes. Seems as if a tiny bit of DNA that was taken off the metal button of a knife sheath left at the scene is now being refuted.  The party house, one in which parties went on when none of the renters were there to host or keep control, was one in which strangers could easily attend. DNA from others was found there. In addition, there was reported (and i can't verify) that despite what was said to be an extremely bloody scene, no blood evidence was found in Kohberger's apartment, car, or parent's house...

In the article above, which I'll excerpt from below, the difficulty of being sure of results is stressed.

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Excerpt:

A poor quality kit might have too few matches or it just might have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship,' the document reads.

Larkin notes that sites such as AncestryDNA, 23ndme and MyHeritage prohibit forensic/investigative genetic genealogy in their databases, but there isn't really a way to enforce it.

'In the absence of effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists are on an 'honor system' to obey the Terms of Services and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic genetic genealogy.'

Larkin explains that the science used by these sites is not perfect, and 'any given centimorgan amount can represent more than one possible relationship.'

She notes one example that has nearly 20 possible relationship lines listed for a match - and says that's considered a close match.

Larkin points out that unlike DNA tests that find an individual, which are standard forensic STR tests, genetic genealogy testing identifies possible relatives.

She then goes on to note cases she's allegedly aware of where genetic genealogy has been wrong, as well as cases where the databases were used improperly by authorities.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

WILL YOUR DNA BE USED TO MAKE BIOWEAPON THAT CAN KILL YOU or THE PEOPLE OF YOUR ETHNICITY

MSN - DAILY MAIL - HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE WARNS DNA BIOWEAPONS 

A frightening and important thing to know.  Your DNA submitted for medical testing or genealogy might end up being used against you.

Excerpt: The congressman said the development of the weapons is worrisome given the popularity of DNA testing services, where people willingly share their genetic mapping with businesses to gain insight on their genealogy and health.

'You can't have a discussion about this without talking about privacy and protection of commercial data because of expectations of privacy have degraded over the last 20 years.' the Democratic lawmaker said.

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BLACKSTONE BOUGHT ANCESTRY FOR NEAR FIVE BILLION DOLLARS : HOW PRIVATE IS YOUR DNA ?

LATIMES WHAT MIGHT Blackstone DO WITH ANCESTY'S DNA DATA 

The PAPER version of this article which appeared in the LA Times on April 13, 20121 by David Lazarus was called  "What Might Blackstone Do With Ancestry's DNA Data?"  On line, where it is showing up in Spanish, it is called  "Why Would A Company Invest Millions To Buy Ancestry, If It Is Not Interested In The DNA Data Of Its Users?"

Excerpt: He and other bioethicists were quick to note that existing federal medical privacu laws do not apply to genealogy sites.  These companies are basically free to do whatever they want with people's genetic data.

"A lot of these sites are bait and hoax," Caplan said.  "They offer interesting content, but what they're really looking for is your DNA."

So take the industry's genetic privacy guarantees with a grain of salt.  These companies operate largely in the shadows and their activities are limited almost exclusively by an honor system."

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But nearly every expert spoke with cited  the partnership  announced in 2018 between Ancestry rival 23andme and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

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This is a very important article and if you have allowed your DNA to be submitted to ANY genealogy site, I agree with the journalist who wrote the article.  You have no protection and no company spends billions for data they are not going to use.

REMEMBER THAT GENEALOGY DOES NOT DEPEND ON YOUR DNA. Genealogy depends on DOCUMENTS.

ARE DNA TESTING COMPANIES GOING TO GO BUST? SEEMS THE DNA TESTING BOOM IS OVER

YAHOO FINANCE : ONCE HOT DNA TESTING article by Daniel Roberts

Excerpt: It isn't just 23andme. DNA tests went boom in 2018 with the number of consumers who had bought one doubling to 25 million, now sales have gone bust.

MIT Technology Review estimates that the largest DNA test players sold just 4 million to 6 million DNA tests in 2019, an industry growth rate of 20 %, the slowest year for the industry ever.

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I have never done my DNA and to my knowledge, neither has anyone in my family.  These companies and their owners have gotten rich, but the aspect of privacy invasion and your data no longer being yours (after about 20 years but currently for the use of law enforcement) is also in my opinion an aspect of the decline in interest.  Further while DNA can help you if you're truly blocked, sometimes it's impatience or amateur genealogy that's the issue.  Currently I have a friend who is stuck due to a common name and reportage of birth place different on three different census in the 1800's.  I told her I've seen death certificates from the 1940's and before in which children do not know their mother's maiden name.