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submitted 4 days ago by schizoidman@lemm.ee to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

Regeneron is to pay $256 million in cash to acquire "substantially all" of 23andMe's assets, including its massive biobank of around 15 million customer genetic samples and data.

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[-] pemptago@lemmy.ml 173 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Hindsight is 20/20. ITT lots of folks proud of themselves for not falling into this trap, but try to understand, 23andme was named "invention of the year" by Time in 2008. That's ~~before~~ [edit: around the time] google and facebook had begun monetizing private data. Data privacy, or even the power of data itself, was hardly appreciated by private companies let alone in the public consciousness.

Orphans, people with absent parents, decedents of slaves, the list goes on for folks who would understandably go for an affordable way to access their genetic history. Sure, there were plenty of folks since then who had all the information and still went for it, but what about all those who became aware of it too late and when they requested their data be deleted were told it would be kept for 3 years!

I'm saddened to see more victim blaming here than anger at the ToS/privacy policy fuckery and a complete lack of consumer protection.

[-] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 53 points 4 days ago

I didn't get the choice when my easily fooled parents decided it was a good idea.

We tried the 'delete your 23 and me data' but who the fuck knows if that works.

Now some corpos own my DNA probably.

Thanks mom.

[-] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world -1 points 4 days ago

This is probably the worst thing that will ever happen to you in your life

[-] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 9 points 4 days ago

Nah man I was born over 3 decades ago

Which "once in a lifetime" market crash is your favorite so far?

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this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
675 points (99.0% liked)

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