23andme Stealing Our Genes

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Seife also draws comparisons between 23andMe and Google. “What the search engine is to Google, the Personal Genome Service is to 23andMe,” Seife says. By tying 23andMe to the biggest search engine in the world, Seife employs the authority strategy. The audience is more likely to recognize the danger of data collection if they learn that Google partakes in it as well. This gives credibility to his main claim that 23andMe is storing our personal information unbeknownst to us.

And even if 23andMe states that our data is safe with them, too much information is available just by looking at our genome. “Genetic data is not data that can be anonymised”, says Pascal Borry, an assistant professor of bioethics at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law. Even if our names and addresses were omitted from any type of data collection, our genomes say enough. We can be identified, analyzed, and have our personal information compromised without even giving a name.

Throughout his article, Charles Seif uses logos, pathos, ethos, and authority strategies to make the claim that 23andMe is collecting your genome and possibly sharing it with others. His claims are well backed by evidence, and his audience should recognize the ethical issues being ignored by 23andMe. Seif makes a very valid argument, and it is made even more effective by proper writing strategies. Hopefully genetic research can continue to advance while maintaining our fundamental rights to privacy and confidentiality. However, 23andMe seems to have other plans for our future and our genes.

Works Cited

Borry, Pascal. "The Genome's Big Data Problem." Motherboard. EN Systems, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

Seife, Charles. "23andMe Is Terrifying, but Not for the Reasons the FDA Thinks." Scientific American. N.p., 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.