Commentary: Data collected for the US “Dreamers” program & by genetic testing companies can be used to discriminate
Author: Brett Solomon, Access Now, Published on: 15 February 2019
"The same data used to protect immigrants could be used to deport them," 11 February 2019
When... DACA... was implemented in 2012, Dreamer applicants were assured that their information would be “protected from disclosure to ICE and CBP for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings.”... [However,] many human rights advocates fear that because the Trump administration has shown interest in mass deportations, information in government databases could be retained and used to target the Dreamers.
... [Genetic] tests also expose you to new forms of manipulation... Companies that collect genetic data have begun to sell access to their databases to big pharmaceutical companies... By using these services, we’re handing over our unique data to a giant corporation with no real understanding or control over how it will be used... Government surveillance laws broadly fail to provide adequate protections for genetic information... A robust [federal data protection] law would have binding rules and hold all entities—whether a tech company or the US government—to account for bad behavior. [refers to Ancestry.com & 23andMe]
Related companies: 23andMe Ancestry.com