Unfortunately, my in-laws did one of these services, which means my children are now potentially identifiable to some future unfriendly regime. This is a disaster for human rights advocates of the future.
The End of Genetic Privacy in the Blade Runner Canon - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9731365/
They kind of do though.
> A bunch of people could be doing political activism at some location and be tracked down
Considering political activism is usually in groups out in the open, how practical would be to find the people participating via DNA tests (of what? maybe if they spit on the ground?), compared to the already existing and used phone geolocation and face recognition? Yes those can be protected against by not carrying a phone and wearing a mask/balaclava, but one can also take steps not to leave any DNA residue of use.
So I think it's pretty far fetched, and if you're concerned about your government abusing political activists (within reason of course, coup plotters are also technically political activists but not the type one wants to protect) there are better things to do than to focus on one specific impractical avenue of recognition that could lead to abuse.
This is pretty standard "how will we respond if there is a future authoritian regime"? (not saying the fear is unjustified - just saying the fear is pretty standard)
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Edit:
People are really misunderstanding my comment. Let me try again.
To be clear, this is hypothetical:
The government makes it illegal to support anyone of opposing political party. Which includes, not buying from their store. They go to the restaurant of the opposing party and run a DNA test on all of the silverware. They arrest anyone whose DNA matches the DNA on the silverware - because those people "supported" the opposing party.
But it's much worse if they manage to identify actual critics, people who actually defied them in some way.
The regime that strikes out randomly, probably that ferments opposition, right? The revolution that eats its young is a lot less scary than the revolution that consistently eats its enemies.
Uighurs in China. Communists in America during the McCarthy Era. Muslims in countries where "terrorism" is illegal.
Although I'm not sure how likely this is to be an actual threat we face.
[1] https://jacquesmattheij.com/if-you-have-nothing-to-hide/
Read the linked study in the comments on Blade Runner, Phillip K Dick.
Again, your view is unimaginative.
On the contrary, science fiction is an excellent resource for policy, as it imagines futures where certain policies are carried out to their final conclusions.
> While most people would agree that putting a serial killer behind bars is an acceptable tradeoff, questions are nevertheless growing about who should control the genetic data compiled by genetic testing companies and how that data should be used: Are we willing to give up our genetic information in exchange for more efficient law enforcement, health information, and consumer targeting practices?
Yes, I am. It's worth it.
Your acceptance of this loss of autonomy will cost me my autonomy.
The benefit is to ensure punishment for a wildly unlikely, tragic thing occurring.
I think you don't understand what humans lose.
You're attacking straw men here.
https://www.kold.com/2022/09/29/dna-genealogy-led-arrest-pho...
Look on the bright side - at least if you children turn out to be murderers, they will be brought to justice more swiftly even if they're really careful about their crimes.
Again, I don't understand people who fear nameless nobodies over actually powerful people.