California law says genetic testing companies have to get your permission before they store, use or sell your DNA, but the state itself doesn't have to get your permission and has been storing DNA samples from every baby born there since the '80s. Lawmakers want to change that, but face an uphill battle.
Wait, what the fuck? This is inexcusable. This means even if you weren’t born in CA, parts of your genome will still be in their database if you’re related to anyone who was, and those parts are often enough to identify you. This isn’t just about personal privacy, it’s about our collective ability to retain ownership and control over the most fundamental parts of ourselves and our families. And this data will obviously be abused by law enforcement, if it hasn’t already, because that’s what they do.
Babies deserve even more privacy protections than adults, since they can’t consent to anything.
I still think I should be able to copyright my DNA and sue anyone who uses it without my informed consent, if Monsanto can do it.
Right??
Don’t worry, it’ll get fixed once it affects a politician.
A Republican softball game got shot up and a republican member of the house(or senate, I can’t remember) was shot and they are still against any type of gun laws so I’d hold me breath on that.
This has been around since the '80s, 4 decades. It’s not controversial. It saves babies lives, as they are diagnosed with genetic diseases.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/baby-dna-parental-consent-genetic-records-california-law-newborns/
I’ve been a CA resident for nearly a decade and had no idea about it. And now that I’m aware, I’m furious.
I don’t have a problem with them doing genetic testing for the reasons you mention, but they should absolutely not be allowed to retain the genetic material beyond a reasonable time limit, and under no circumstances should it be legal for them to share it with anyone for any reason. Seems quite controversial to me.
It’s not controversial because they let you get rid of it. Stop being outraged without even looking into the issue.
Oy. Data this sensitive and useful should not require an active deletion request, especially from brand-new parents. It should be automatically deleted after a certain amount of time since it involves the protection of entire families, even those not directly involved with the newborn.
I was more or less agreeing with you before, but why do you get to decide what I’m mad about? Sorry, but I’m going to continue voicing my opinion.
I’m saying that you had “no idea” about something that’s been around for a long time. Maybe you should look into the details (pro and con) before becoming enraged. People in CA have known about this and they’re not that upset, just asking for more transparency.
You are falling victim to today’s ragebait media, which is a larger issue. You may be correct but I’m telling you to not jump to conclusions without doing some research into it.
And maybe you should try some basic reading comprehension, ey?
Personally when I was 3 days old, after reading the pamphlet, I went on to the state website to decline the prolonged storage of my genetic code because I was well informed of the potential threats to my privacy it might pose. My less learned peers simply remembered the pamphlet and went to the website after a few years once they could read.