“Consumers have an inherent right to privacy,” says Maureen Mahoney, a technology and privacy policy analyst at Consumer Reports, a consumer advocacy nonprofit that lobbied for the California bill. “People don’t want information about their test results being made available to the public.”

Mahoney says privacy advocates wanted to make sure DNA testing firms can’t bury consent clauses in long terms of service agreements. The new California law bans companies from using “dark patterns”­—deceptive practices that employ popups and other web elements to trick consumers into providing consent.

It also mandates that companies give customers a clear and easy way to close their accounts and delete their DNA data from the company’s database, if they choose. In addition, the companies are required to destroy a customer’s biological sample within 30 days of their request.

Mullin, E. (2021, October 21). States are toughening up privacy laws for at-home DNA tests. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/states-are-toughening-up-privacy-laws-for-at-home-dna-tests/