Commodification of Personal Genetic Data by DTC Genetic Testing Companies. The leading company 'AncestryDNA'

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Communications - Research, Studies, Enquiries, grade: 95/100, University of Haifa, course: Communication technologies in everyday life, language: English, abstract: This study will focus on one of the leading companies in the DTC genealogy genetic testing industry - AncestryDNA - and aims to examine the ways in which AncestryDNA frames the concept of human ancestry and the cultural, social, and psychological meanings it associates it with. The author argues that AncestryDNA frames ancestry as s treasure trove full of information about an individual's ancestral lineage by blurring the limitations of DNA testing, along with the portrayal of ancestry as a crucial part in self-realization, building one's identity (discovering oneself), and achieving a sense of belonging to a group. Due to scientific progressions made in genetic data collection and analysis in the last two decades, genetic testing has become more affordable and increasingly available. This fact has contributed to the emergence of a new privatized, capitalist and internet-based form of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services. DTC genetic tests have been rapidly gaining popularity over the last few years with several millions' genetic data already collected in DTC companies' commercial data bases. This study will focus on DTC companies that offer genetic tests for genealogy and ancestry due to the popular surge in purchases of genealogy DTC DNA tests during the last few years. According to an article published in The MIT Technology Review Journal on February 11, 2019, approximately 26 million individuals in The United States alone, have purchased and taken a genealogy genetic test from a DTC genetic testing company by the year 2019. The public interest in DNA as an informative tool regarding health, ancestry and more, is attributed, according to the article, to the 'heavy TV and online marketing' by DTC genetic companies that have led to 'a record year [2019] for sales.'