The Real Business Behind 23andMe, Ancestry and Your DNA: How Your Saliva Became Their Fortune

By Dr. Wil Rodríguez | TOCSIN Magazine

⚠️ Warning: Our investigations will disturb your assumptions about medical privacy, scientific ethics, and corporate benevolence. Read only if you’re ready to see how your DNA became someone else’s property.

You paid $99 to discover if you’re 23% Irish or have a genetic predisposition to lactose intolerance. What you actually did was sell the most intimate information about yourself—your genetic blueprint—to a multibillion-dollar industry that has turned human heredity into the world’s most valuable commodity.

The company kept your money and your DNA. You got a colorful pie chart showing your ancestry and perhaps learned you share genetic markers with a second cousin in Minnesota. They got something far more valuable: unrestricted access to genetic information that pharmaceutical companies will pay millions to access, insurance companies would kill to obtain, and governments would wage wars to control.

While you pay once for the test kit, companies like 23andMe and Ancestry make far more money by licensing your genetic information to drug companies and researchers. Companies market privacy and personal discovery to consumers while building their profits on large-scale data monetization.

The DNA testing industry isn’t selling genetic analysis—it’s harvesting genetic data. And what they’re doing with your genetic information is far more invasive, profitable, and dangerous than you were ever told.

The $99 Trojan Horse

The economics of genetic testing never made sense from the consumer’s perspective. How can companies sequence and analyze your entire genome, provide detailed ancestry reports, offer health insights, maintain massive databases, and turn a profit on a $99 test kit?

The answer: They can’t. The test kit is a loss leader. The real product is your genetic information, which has value that compounds over time as the database grows and technology advances.

The bidding was re-opened, and the nonprofit TTAM Research Institute won with a bid of $305 million. TTAM Research Institute was set up in May by Anne Wojcicki, a co-founder and former CEO of 23andMe, to acquire the company’s assets and use the DNA data for medical research.

When 23andMe faced financial difficulties, the primary asset being sold wasn’t the company’s technology or brand—it was the genetic database containing millions of DNA profiles. Your genetic information became a commodity being auctioned to the highest bidder.

Policies from AncestryDNA and 23andMe promise they will not “sell” your raw genetic file in the traditional sense. Instead, they license aggregate or de-identified datasets to research partners under strict contracts.

This distinction is critical: They don’t “sell” your individual genetic profile. Instead, they package your information with millions of others and license access to pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and biotechnology firms. It’s not sale—it’s systematic genetic surveillance disguised as scientific collaboration.

The Pharmaceutical Gold Rush

The real money in genetic data comes from drug development. Pharmaceutical companies and… for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts, 2010) showing that 100 percent of surveyed companies are using a discovery strategy that involves a genetic or genomic approach.

Pharmaceutical companies pay enormous sums for genetic databases because they dramatically improve drug development efficiency. In 2015 Nelson demonstrated that… genetic data, and found the effect was even larger — in a preprint, they estimate the probability of success with genetic evidence is 2.6 times greater.

Your genetic information helps pharmaceutical companies:

• Identify new drug targets by analyzing genetic variations associated with diseases

• Predict which patients will respond to specific treatments

• Reduce clinical trial costs by pre-selecting participants based on genetic profiles

• Develop personalized medicine approaches that command premium pricing

• Patent genetic discoveries derived from population-level genetic analysis

The economic value is staggering. In AI-based drug discovery—a field benefiting from a cumulative investment of $60 billion—the leaders are making real progress toward approved therapies.

When you submitted your saliva sample, you became an unpaid research participant in the largest genetic study in human history. Pharmaceutical companies are developing billion-dollar drugs using genetic insights derived from your DNA, and you will never see a penny of those profits.

The Vanishing Act Problem

The genetic testing industry’s business model creates a fundamental security vulnerability: companies can disappear, taking your genetic data with them. Atlas Biomed, a DNA testing company that promised clients insights into their genetic disposition has suddenly disappeared.

When genetic testing companies fail, go bankrupt, or shut down operations, customer genetic data becomes orphaned. There are no regulations requiring secure destruction of genetic information. There are no guarantees that your genetic data won’t be sold to unknown third parties as part of bankruptcy proceedings.

Unlike credit card information or social security numbers, which can be changed if compromised, your genetic information is immutable. If your genetic data is stolen, sold, or misused, you cannot get a new genome. The privacy violations are permanent.

23andMe settled the lawsuit in December 2024, and agreed to establish a $30 million fund for cash payments and three years of security monitoring for affected customers.

This settlement reveals that major genetic testing companies have already experienced data breaches affecting millions of customers. The compensation—a few dollars per person—is laughably inadequate given the permanent nature of genetic privacy violations.

The Insurance Industry’s Holy Grail

Insurance companies view genetic information as the ultimate risk assessment tool. While the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) provides some protections in the United States, these protections have significant limitations:

• They don’t apply to life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance

• They don’t prevent discrimination based on genetic information of family members

• They don’t apply to genetic data obtained from sources other than direct genetic testing

• They don’t protect against discrimination based on genetic predispositions revealed through other medical tests

Insurance companies are investing heavily in genetic research and data analytics capabilities. They’re developing algorithms that can predict lifetime healthcare costs, disability risks, and mortality probabilities based on genetic profiles.

Your genetic information allows insurance companies to:

• Calculate risk premiums with unprecedented precision

• Identify customers likely to develop expensive chronic conditions

• Adjust pricing based on genetic predispositions before symptoms appear

• Exclude coverage for genetic conditions before they manifest

• Bundle genetic risk assessments into standard underwriting processes

The economic incentive is enormous. Insurance companies that can accurately predict genetic risks gain massive competitive advantages over companies operating without genetic information.

The Government Surveillance Goldmine

Genetic databases represent the ultimate government surveillance tool. DNA analysis can:

• Identify individuals from minimal biological evidence

• Track family relationships across multiple generations

• Predict behavioral tendencies and health outcomes

• Create comprehensive population monitoring systems

• Enable predictive policing based on genetic predispositions

Law enforcement agencies regularly access genetic databases through legal and extralegal channels. The Golden State Killer was identified through genetic genealogy using consumer genetic databases. While this particular case involved solving serious crimes, the precedent establishes that genetic databases are accessible to government agencies.

Foreign governments are particularly interested in genetic information from citizens of other countries. China has been accused of systematically collecting genetic information from various populations. Russian, Iranian, and North Korean intelligence services have all been linked to efforts to obtain genetic databases from Western countries.

Your genetic information becomes a national security asset that foreign adversaries want to steal and your own government wants to access.

The Family Betrayal Problem

Genetic testing doesn’t just expose your genetic information—it reveals genetic details about your entire extended family without their consent. Your DNA profile allows companies to:

• Identify genetic predispositions shared by your siblings, parents, and children

• Reveal family relationships that participants may prefer to keep private

• Expose adoption, infidelity, or other sensitive family secrets

• Create genetic profiles for family members who never consented to testing

• Predict genetic characteristics of future children

When you submit DNA for testing, you’re making genetic privacy decisions for dozens of relatives across multiple generations. Your decision to participate in genetic testing affects the privacy of people who may strongly object to genetic surveillance.

This creates profound ethical problems. Should your curiosity about ancestry or health predispositions override your family’s right to genetic privacy? Should companies be allowed to build genetic profiles of non-consenting individuals based on relatives’ DNA submissions?

The Future Genome Ownership Question

The genetic testing industry is moving toward comprehensive genome ownership models where companies claim intellectual property rights over genetic discoveries derived from customer data. These claims include:

• Patent rights to genetic variants associated with specific traits or diseases

• Exclusive licensing agreements for genetic research derived from customer data

• Commercial ownership of genetic insights discovered through database analysis

• Proprietary algorithms that analyze genetic information for commercial purposes

This creates a dystopian scenario where companies own genetic knowledge derived from your DNA while you retain no rights to discoveries made using your genetic information.

Some companies are developing genetic data marketplaces where customers can directly sell access to their genetic information. These platforms promise to give customers control over their genetic data while creating new revenue streams.

But genetic marketplaces raise additional problems:

• Economic pressure to sell genetic privacy for short-term financial gain

• Lack of understanding about long-term consequences of genetic data sales

• Potential coercion of economically vulnerable populations to sell genetic information

• Creation of genetic data brokers who aggregate and resell genetic information

The Algorithmic Discrimination Engine

Genetic information enables new forms of algorithmic discrimination that are nearly impossible to detect or challenge. AI systems trained on genetic databases can:

• Identify genetic patterns associated with cognitive abilities, personality traits, or behavioral tendencies

• Make hiring, lending, or educational decisions based on genetic predispositions

• Exclude individuals from opportunities based on genetic risk factors

• Create genetic “credit scores” that follow individuals throughout their lives

Because genetic discrimination often operates through algorithmic black boxes, victims may never know why they were denied employment, loans, insurance, or educational opportunities.

The combination of genetic information with other personal data creates comprehensive individual profiles that enable unprecedented levels of social control and discrimination.

The Consent Illusion

The genetic testing industry relies on the illusion of informed consent to legitimize genetic data collection and commercialization. But genuine informed consent requires understanding the full scope of how genetic information will be used—information that companies deliberately obscure.

Most customers consent to genetic testing believing they’re only sharing information for ancestry research or personal health insights. They don’t understand that their genetic information will be:

• Licensed to pharmaceutical companies for drug development

• Analyzed by artificial intelligence systems for pattern recognition

• Integrated with other databases to create comprehensive personal profiles

• Potentially accessed by law enforcement and government agencies

• Retained indefinitely regardless of the customer’s future preferences

• Used to make inferences about family members who never consented to testing

The consent forms are deliberately incomprehensible, written by lawyers to provide maximum legal protection for companies while minimizing customer understanding of genetic data use.

True informed consent would require explaining every current and potential future use of genetic information in plain language. Companies avoid this because genuine transparency would dramatically reduce participation rates.

The International Genetic Arms Race

Genetic databases have become strategic national resources in international competition. Countries with the largest, most comprehensive genetic databases gain significant advantages in:

• Pharmaceutical research and development

• Biotechnology innovation

• Precision medicine capabilities

• Biological weapons research

• Population health management

• Economic competitiveness in genetic industries

China’s national genetic database initiatives represent systematic efforts to collect genetic information from their entire population for strategic advantages in biotechnology and medicine.

American and European genetic testing companies are inadvertently contributing to international genetic competitiveness by building massive databases that foreign governments attempt to access or steal.

Your genetic information becomes part of national competition between governments, with implications for international security, economic competitiveness, and technological dominance.

The Genetic Underclass Creation

As genetic information becomes integrated into social and economic systems, society risks creating a genetic underclass of individuals discriminated against based on their genetic profiles.

People with genetic predispositions to expensive medical conditions, cognitive differences, or behavioral variations may find themselves systematically excluded from:

• Employment opportunities

• Insurance coverage

• Educational programs

• Social services

• Reproductive choices

• Housing options

Genetic discrimination creates permanent social stratification based on biological characteristics that individuals cannot control or change.

Unlike traditional forms of discrimination based on race, gender, or religion—which society has learned to recognize and combat—genetic discrimination operates invisibly through algorithmic systems that make decisions based on statistical predictions about genetic predispositions.

Breaking the Genetic Surveillance System

The genetic testing industry has successfully created a surveillance system that people voluntarily participate in and pay to support. Breaking this system requires understanding what’s actually happening and taking deliberate steps to protect genetic privacy:

Individual Protection Strategies:

• Refuse participation in genetic testing programs regardless of claimed benefits

• Support legislation that strengthens genetic privacy protections

• Educate family members about genetic privacy implications of testing

• Demand transparent disclosure of all genetic data uses before consenting to testing

• Support companies that prioritize genetic privacy over data monetization

Systemic Change Requirements:

• Comprehensive genetic privacy legislation that prevents commercial genetic surveillance

• International treaties governing cross-border genetic information sharing

• Democratic oversight of government access to genetic databases

• Public funding for genetic research that doesn’t depend on commercial genetic surveillance

• Genetic data rights frameworks that give individuals ownership and control over their genetic information

Policy Reform Priorities:

• Regulation of genetic testing companies as data brokers rather than healthcare providers

• Requirements for explicit consent for each use of genetic information

• Mandatory disclosure of all revenue streams derived from genetic data

• Right to genetic data deletion and destruction

• Prohibition of genetic discrimination in all contexts

The Choice: Genetic Freedom or Genetic Serfdom

The genetic testing industry has created a false choice: participate in genetic surveillance or forfeit access to genetic insights that could benefit your health and satisfy your curiosity about ancestry and genetic predispositions.

But this choice is based on a lie. The genetic insights provided to consumers represent a tiny fraction of the analytical capabilities that companies apply to genetic data for commercial purposes. You receive basic ancestry information and limited health insights while companies use your genetic data for sophisticated drug development, insurance risk assessment, and algorithmic prediction systems.

The real choice is between genetic freedom and genetic serfdom. Genetic freedom means maintaining control over your genetic information and participating only in genetic research that operates transparently and shares benefits equitably with participants.

Genetic serfdom means surrendering your genetic information to commercial entities that use it to generate profits while providing minimal benefits to the genetic data sources.

Currently, most people are choosing genetic serfdom without realizing it. They believe they’re purchasing genetic analysis services when they’re actually selling their genetic information to commercial surveillance systems.

The future of genetic privacy depends on recognizing this deception and demanding genetic research models that prioritize participant rights over corporate profits.

Your genome contains the most intimate information about you that exists. It reveals your past, present, and future in ways that no other data source can match. The question isn’t whether genetic information will be used to make decisions about your life—it’s whether you’ll have any control over those decisions.

The genetic testing industry promises discovery and empowerment while delivering surveillance and exploitation. Breaking free requires understanding what they’re really buying with your $99—and recognizing that the price of genetic knowledge shouldn’t be genetic freedom.

Reflection Box

Consider your own relationship with genetic testing and privacy:

• Have you submitted DNA for testing, and if so, do you understand what companies are doing with your genetic information?

• How would you feel if insurance companies used your genetic predispositions to adjust your premiums or deny coverage?

• What genetic information would you want to keep private from employers, governments, or family members?

• Should pharmaceutical companies profit from drugs developed using your genetic information without compensating you?

• How important is genetic privacy compared to the potential benefits of genetic research and personalized medicine?

• Would you be comfortable with law enforcement accessing your genetic information to solve crimes?

• What rights should you have over genetic discoveries made using your DNA?

If these questions make you uncomfortable, you’re beginning to understand the implications of genetic surveillance. Your discomfort reflects the loss of genetic privacy that most people don’t realize has already occurred.

Ready to understand how your most intimate information is being weaponized against you?

At TOCSIN Magazine, we expose the surveillance systems disguised as scientific progress. From genetic harvesting to biological discrimination, we investigate how corporations are turning your body into data.

Subscribe to TOCSIN Magazine for essential analysis of:

• How biotech companies are building genetic surveillance systems

• The coming age of algorithmic discrimination based on DNA

• Fighting back against biological data exploitation

• Protecting genetic privacy in the surveillance economy

• The future of human autonomy in the age of genetic control

Because understanding biological surveillance is essential for preserving genetic freedom.

👉 [SUBSCRIBE NOW] - www.tocsinmag.com