Digital Spit and Food, be sure to read the fine print.
I recall hearing some time ago about the newly popular home DNA tests that people could get done for genealogical tracing. Sounds like a fun idea, besides the market for this kind of thing is booming, with a valuation of $70 million in 2015 and an expectation to reach the hundreds of millions in the next five to ten years. So with the rising popularity of such endeavors, why not? It seems pretty harmless to spit into a tube and send it off in the mail. Some weeks later you might find out that you’re not actually Italian, instead your Greek or whatever.
Well as fate would have it, your consent for analysis of your DNA and your provided sample has a lot of utility in the great and amazing world of capitalism. But hey you signed the forms agreeing that in exchange for your DNA sample and a glimpse into your past, the company doing the analysis can sell your data, conduct further analysis on it, distribute it to an interested third party, or even devise a way to sell you more products based on your DNA. It was all in the fine print on the consent form you signed. Oh, you failed to read the dozen or so pages of font size 8 legal jargon and terminology that not all lawyers even truly understand. Well I’m sure you will fine…maybe.
So why does really matter? Well that whole part of your consenting your DNA having all manner of things happening may come back around full circle down the road, if it was say sold to an insurance company that offers medical coverage. This is a hypothetical situation, but lets just say your DNA is sold to such an insurance company and they were able to determine some thing about your health that you didn’t even know. They aren’t going to tell you what those things are but they will definitely be reflected in the coverages they offer you and the rates you pay. This is of course assuming they even want to cover you. Something to think about before spitting in that tube and mailing if off to some company that probably has profits as a more of the priority than your privacy or well being. Food for thought.
Speaking of food, which this is real reason why I wanted to write this post for today, I recently learned about restaurants selling your data. For some of you out there this may be an old news story, but for me its new. So when I say your data, what I am talking about is the apps associated to the restaurants. As we go more and more online, we give up more and more privacy. So just like the DNA sample, the restaurants are selling our data off when we consent to using their app. If the credit card information wasn’t enough, now they we are tell them what we like to eat, how much (quantity wise) we like to eat, and of course how often. I’m sure there is a host of other clever things that could be discerned for that information.
So what could that data be used for? Selling us more products is pretty normal. I don’t own a cat, but if I start talking about Cat Litter on my phone enough, I will start receiving ads for cat litter. And if I start speaking in Spanish, I will get the ads in Spanish too. Buts that’s a story for a another time. Anyways another hypothetical situation, but what if your dietary information is getting sold to once again the medical insurance industry? Not only do they have your DNA that indicates your prone to heart disease or hereditary issue, they also know you eat a diet primarily consists of unhealthy fast food five days a week. Imagine if did online grocery ordering, which is primarily junk food and ramen noodles, there’s the two-day gap that’s not accounted for by the restaurant apps.
So I will close simply by saying, make sure you read the fine print and understand what your agreeing to. This medical insurance thing hasn’t happened to anyone I know of as of yet. But this isn’t to say its not already being worked or secretly in the works already. Trust me, if someone can figure out a way to make or save money for business, that’s the direction they are most likely going to go.