Crowdsourced Genetic Data Projects Shut Down Amid Privacy and Politics

April 1, 2025, 6:23 pm

Multiple reports reveal that crowdsourced platforms for sharing personal genetic data are shutting down due to mounting privacy concerns and political pressures. Once praised for democratizing access to genomic information, these projects are being discontinued to protect users from potential misuse and authoritarian surveillance, underscoring the broader challenges of managing sensitive biological data in today’s digital climate.

arstechnica.com / FTC: 23andMe buyer must honor firm’s privacy promises for genetic data

Agency issues warning about privacy of genetic information and DNA samples.

techcrunch.com / Genetic sharing site openSNP to shut down, citing concerns of data privacy and ‘rise in authoritarian governments’

The open source repository of genetic data will delete its banks of data on April 30, its co-founder confirms.

gizmodo.com / Crowdsourced DNA Project Says It Will Shut Down to Protect Users from Rising Authoritarianism

The creator said he is worried about the changing political climate circling the globe.

theregister.com / Genetic data repo OpenSNP to self-destruct before authoritarians weaponize it

Blame the 23andMe implosion, rise in far-right govt OpenSNP, a fourteen-year-old open source repository for genetic records, will shut down and delete all its data at the end of April.…

4 stories from 4 sources in 14 days ago ... #biotech #open-source #dataprivacy #techpolicy

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Crowdsourced Genetic Data Projects Shut Down Amid Privacy and Politics

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