[driveway]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/214...ores-gene-data

A prenatal test taken by millions of pregnant women globally was developed by Chinese gene company BGI Group in collaboration with the Chinese military and is being used by the firm to collect genetic data, a Reuters review of publicly available documents found.

The report is the first to reveal that the company collaborated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to develop and improve the test, taken in early pregnancy, as well as the scope of BGI's storage and analysis of the data.
…

So far more than 8 million women globally have taken BGI's prenatal tests, BGI has said. NIFTY is sold in at least 52 countries, including Britain, Europe, Canada, Australia, Thailand and India,
….

Reuters found no evidence BGI violated privacy agreements or regulations; the company said it obtains signed consent and destroys overseas samples and data after five years. "At no stage throughout the testing or research process does BGI have access to any identifiable personal data," the company said.

However, the test's privacy policy says data collected can be shared when it is "directly relevant to national security or national defence security" in China. BGI said it "has never been asked to provide – nor provided – data from its NIFTY tests to Chinese authorities for national security or national defence purposes."
…

Other companies selling such prenatal tests also re-use data for research. But none operate on the scale of BGI, scientists and ethicists say, or have BGI's links to a government or its track record  with a national military.
…

As well as genetic information about the foetus and mother, the testing process captures personal information, such as the customer's country, weight, height, and medical history, according to BGI computer code reviewed by Reuters. The customer's name is not collected.

If you or any of your family members has ever used the NIFTY prenatal screening test, you probably want to know this information.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk