Reading the fine print when buying your genetic self online: direct-to-consumer genetic testing terms and conditions
Citation:
Phillips, A.M., Reading the fine print when buying your genetic self online: direct-to-consumer genetic testing terms and conditions, New Genetics and Society, 36, 3, 2017, 273 - 295Abstract:
Contracts are ubiquitous online. Clickwrap and browsewrap agreements are to be encountered on almost every website a person engages with when accessing services online. Through these documents, people enter into binding contractual relationships, often without reading and sometimes without noticing these documents, when they engage with a wide variety of services online. This article discusses the use of contracts by the direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) industry, as the dominant means of industry self-regulation. To date limited attention has been paid to these contracts. This article reviews the contracts of 71 companies that provide a variety of tests for health purposes. It considers these contracts from a consumer protection standpoint and identifies a number of problematic terms that may be challengeable under the UK’s consumer legislation and concludes by discussing the recent work potential for the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority to establish and enforce clear standards for DTCGT contracts.
URI:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14636778.2017.1352468http://hdl.handle.net/2262/92577
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/phillian
Author: PHILLIPS, ANDELKA
Type of material:
Journal ArticleURI:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14636778.2017.1352468http://hdl.handle.net/2262/92577
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Series/Report no:
New Genetics and Society;36;
3;
Availability:
Full text availableKeywords:
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing, Regulation, Contract, Unfair terms, Clickwrap, Informed choiceSubject (TCD):
Digital Humanities , Genes & Society , direct-to-consumer genetic testingDOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2017.1352468Metadata
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