quote:

Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:

That's great that 23 and Me wants to move up the value chain and offer services beyond genealogy but I don't see where that has anything to do with either the article linked (which was written 4 years ago) or with HIPAA since they certainly were not bound by HIPAA 4 years ago. To the the best of my knowledge, they still aren't today. That being the case, the company would not be at risk for any consequences which would normally arise from any behavior that would constitute a HIPAA violation for a covered entity until such time as they actually become one. Hence, the companies strategic intentions, especially from 4 years ago, would seem moot.

What would seem more relevant is what is actually contained in their rather voluminous Privacy Policy , and, perhaps equally important and relevant, what is not there. Specifically, any reference to HIPAA since the privacy policies of covered entities typically reference HIPAA quite repetitively.

As mentioned in joel9507's post, the fine print of the Privacy Policy contains enough worrisome clauses to give pause to anyone who values and wishes to protect their most personal information.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:

quote:

Originally posted by Tommydogg:
My wife got me a kit. I'm 99 percent Irish and Engrish. 1 percent African. I now identify as a Mandikan Warrior!

So how do you do in the sun?

quote:

Originally posted by Fundman:
I don't understand how they can make these claims of ancestry. The service is based on the idea that American is a land of immigrants and we are all different ethnically. If you tested 100 random people on the street one person would be part English and French, another person might be part German and Russian, and somebody else might be part African and Mexican, etc. But isn't that based on the false notion that all other countries are ethnically pure and America is unique in its multiculturalism. In fact, if you tested people in France or Argentina you would find just as great a variation in their ancestry so how can they state what French DNA is?