Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) addressed the potential medical benefits and important privacy risks associated with the emerging technologies around whole genome sequencing and the large-scale collection of genomic data:

Large-scale collections of genomic data raise serious concerns for the individuals participating. One of the greatest of these concerns centers around privacy: whether and how personal, sensitive, or intimate knowledge and use of that knowledge about an individual can be limited or restricted (by means that include guarantees of confidentiality, anonymity, or secure data protection). Because whole genome sequence data provide important insights into the medical and related life prospects of individuals as well as their relatives—who most likely did not consent to the sequencing procedure—these privacy concerns extend beyond those