California Considers DNA Privacy Law

The Best Science Writing Online 2012 Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way... Read More ยป California lawmakers are weighing a bill a Full Story »

Posted by Matthew Copley - via Scientific American
Tags Help
Subjects: Sci/Tech
Member Tags: technology health
Stats Help
# Diggs: 2 (as of 2012-05-23)
Editorial Help
Posted by: Posted by Matthew Copley - May 20, 2012 - 7:38 PM PDT
Content Type: Article
Edit Lock: This story can be edited

Reviews

Show All | Notes | Comments | Quotes | Links
Matthew Copley
by Matthew Copley - May. 21, 2012

In California, a new bill named the 'Genetic Information Privacy Act' is currently being voted on. California Senator Alex Padilla believes that your DNA is your personal information, and "ought to be protected". The bill would only allow one's DNA to be accessed by individuals who are 'specifically named on a consent form'. On the other side of the debate, the University of California is objecting the bill because it would cost nearly $600,000 per year in order to sustain. This is money that the state of California simply does not have.

See Full Review » (1 answer)
Alexandra Johnston
3.5
by Alexandra Johnston - Jan. 15, 2013

This is good journalism because of its newsworthiness: proximity of the heart, literal proximity (state of California), currency (it could be passed in the next year), and it is controversial. The author did a good job of including credible sources who are involved in this debate as well as showing a non-biased view by presenting both sides. My personal opinion of this article made it seem a little ridiculous that people even consider a bill like this, I can not understand the importance of protecting your genetic information, when it could be used to help others and has absolutely no risk to you whatsoever, what is the problem? But I guess some people are very concerned about privacy and untrustworthy of some science.

See Full Review » (11 answers)

Comments on this story Help (BETA)

NT Rating | My Rating

Ratings

3.5

not enough reviews
from 2 reviews (5% confidence)
Quality
3.5
Information
3.0
Insight
4.0
Style
3.0
Context
4.0
Depth
3.0
Expertise
5.0
Originality
2.0
Relevance
4.0
Popularity
3.4
Recommendation
4.0
Credibility
3.0
# Reviews
1.0
# Views
4.2
# Likes
1.0
# Emails
1.0
More
How our ratings work »

Topics

(See these related stories.)

Links Help

No links yet. Please review this story to add some!