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And Now, a Word from the Other Side of the Debate

Sep 21, 2007

This column from AlterNet challenges the general excitement with which people have responded to the news about Google's interest in the healthcare field and companies like 23andMe and Navigenics. Noting that a consumer watchdog group recently gave Google the lowest grade for its protection of and respect for user privacy, the article says, "With that low mark in mind, you might find the idea of Google's having its virtual hands on your medical history a bit disturbing." The story skims through Esther Dyson's commitment to open access to genome sequence, and has this to say about 23andMe:

In its race to transform the falling price of genetic sequencing into a dubious consumer product, the company fails to realize that your medical history and personal genome are fundamentally different than your reading habits, and "patients" are not synonymous with "consumers."

 

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