{"id":659953,"date":"2025-04-01T20:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/genetic-sharing-site-opensnp-to-shut-down-citing-concerns-of-data-privacy-and-rise-in-authoritarian-governments\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T20:05:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:05:16","slug":"genetic-sharing-site-opensnp-to-shut-down-citing-concerns-of-data-privacy-and-rise-in-authoritarian-governments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/genetic-sharing-site-opensnp-to-shut-down-citing-concerns-of-data-privacy-and-rise-in-authoritarian-governments\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetic sharing site openSNP to shut down, citing concerns of data privacy and &#8216;rise in authoritarian governments&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b45deed20\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b45deed20\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/genetic-sharing-site-opensnp-to-shut-down-citing-concerns-of-data-privacy-and-rise-in-authoritarian-governments\/#%E2%80%9CAlways_been_a_balancing_act%E2%80%9D\" >\u201cAlways been a balancing act\u201d<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OpenSNP, a large open source repository for user-uploaded genetic data, will shut down and delete all of its data at the end of April, its co-founder has confirmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/tzovar.as\/sunsetting-opensnp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a blog post<\/a>, openSNP co-founder Bastian Greshake Tzovaras attributed the decision to shutter the site both due to concerns of data privacy following the financial collapse of 23andMe and the rise in authoritarian governments around the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 2011 by Tzovaras, along with Philipp Bayer and Helge Rausch, openSNP became an open and public repository for customers of commercial genetic testing kits, including 23andMe, to upload their test results and find others with similar genetic variations. The site had close to 13,000 users at the time of its closure announcement, making it one of the largest public repositories of genetic data. Since its founding, openSNP has touted its contributions to academic and scientific research, and identified more than 7,500 genomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> of openSNP\u2019s shutdown comes in the wake of 23andMe filing for bankruptcy protection, intensifying concerns that the company\u2019s vast banks of customers\u2019 sensitive genetic data will be sold to the highest bidder, who may not adhere to 23andMe\u2019s privacy commitments. The attorneys <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> for the states of California and New York, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2025\/03\/how-delete-your-23andme-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">among others<\/a>, have warned customers to delete their data ahead of the court-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved selloff later this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tzovaras also said a contributing factor in shutting down openSNP was the \u201crise in far-right and other authoritarian governments,\u201d citing the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-gender-ideology-sex-pronouns-order-transgender-2d7e54837f5d0651ed0cefa5ea0d6301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">removal of public data from the U.S. government\u2019s websites<\/a> soon after President Trump returned to power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe risk\/benefit calculus of providing free and open access to individual genetic data in 2025 is very different compared to 14 years ago,\u201d wrote Tzovaras. \u201cSunsetting openSNP \u2014 along with deleting the data stored within it \u2014 feels like it is the most responsible act of stewardship for these data today.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-always-been-a-balancing-act\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CAlways_been_a_balancing_act%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cAlways been a balancing act\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When reached by TechCrunch, Tzovaras was blunt in his decision to shut down openSNP now and not sooner.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe \u2018why now\u2019 to me is ultimately down to there being what counts for a fascist coup in the U.S.,\u201d Tzovaras told TechCrunch, a native of Germany.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSeeing people being disappeared from the streets under the most dubious pretexts really can\u2019t be called anything else,\u201d Tzovaras said, referring to the recent reports of people living in the United States, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcwashington.com\/news\/president-trump-politics\/sen-warner-seeks-answers-about-ice-detaining-us-citizen\/3873086\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">including U.S. citizens<\/a>, who have been arrested in immigration raids, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/latino\/lawyers-advocates-say-48-people-are-unaccounted-ice-raid-new-mexico-rcna196773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">some of whom whose whereabouts remain unknown<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tzovaras said the \u201cwholesale dismantling of scientific institutions and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> itself\u201d since January \u2014 the beginning of the second Trump administration \u2014 was a factor in the shutdown of openSNP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a stretch to worry about how genetic data might be soon abused to make false claims about a variety of topics, effectively bringing back a darker eugenics age,\u201d said Tzovaras.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tzovaras said openSNP has \u201calways been a balancing act\u201d between its potential uses and risks, and that the site\u2019s existence has been an \u201congoing thought of whether the benefits can outweigh the risks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In one historical example he gave \u2014 when law enforcement used genetic data from genealogy site GEDmatch in 2018 to identify a notorious serial killer \u2014 Tzovaras said openSNP seemed at the time like it was less relevant or at risk for use by law enforcement compared to larger ancestry-specific databases. (Tzovaras confirmed to TechCrunch that notwithstanding the open and public nature of the data it stores, openSNP has never received a law enforcement request for any genetic or user data.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tzovaras said that compared to the first Trump administration, \u201cthe misuse of science was both qualitatively and quantitatively very different than what we see today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlongside the larger conversation about the impact of genetic data in the context of 23andMe\u2019s bankruptcy, we decided that it\u2019s time to pull the plug,\u201d Tzovaras told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tzovaras told TechCrunch that on a positive reflection, keeping openSNP running for 14 years may be his \u201cbiggest achievement.\u201d He said openSNP ran on about $100 per month, in the face of commercial startups that have worked to monetize people\u2019s data yet ultimately failed. Tzovaras said that in that sense, openSNP \u201cfeels like a testament to the power of open source\/culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The site has also contributed to research and publications \u201cacross a wide range of disciplines \u2014 from infosec\/privacy all the way to biomedical studies,\u201d said Tzovaras. Many undergraduates also benefited from having access to real-world data hosted by openSNP, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn that sense, I think our hope of \u2018democratizing\u2019 access to genomics was at least partially successful,\u201d said Tzovaras.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/04\/01\/genetic-sharing-site-opensnp-to-shut-down-citing-concerns-of-data-privacy-and-rise-in-authoritarian-governments\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OpenSNP, a large open source repository for user-uploaded genetic data, will shut down and delete all of its data at the end of April, its co-founder has confirmed. In a blog post, openSNP co-founder Bastian Greshake Tzovaras attributed the decision to shutter the site both due to concerns of data privacy following the financial collapse&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":659954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-183374100.jpg?resize=1200,805","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[15047,83071,147467,71511,72287,155259],"class_list":["post-659953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-privacy","tag-open-source","tag-genetic-testing","tag-government","tag-security","tag-u-s-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}