Health Law, Ethics & Policy Seminar Series
presents
Andelka Phillips
Ussher Assistant Professor in Information Technology Law
School of Law, Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland)
Contracting Away DNA - Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests for Health, Love, and More…
Thursday, November 17, 2016
12:30 - 2:00
Solarium (Room FA2), Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park
Professor Phillips will discuss ongoing research on the DTC industry and its regulation. She will provide an overview of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry, highlight the range of services available, and discuss the contracts used by DTC companies. These services now include tests for ancestry, health, diet and lifestyle, genetic relatedness (most often paternity), child talent, and infidelity tests. Professor Phillips has reviewed the contracts of 71 companies that provide tests for health purposes. Based on this review, she suggest that there are several types of terms commonly included in these contracts that are challengeable on the grounds of potential unfairness and that these documents may be failing to meet transparency requirements.
Dr. Andelka M. Phillips is the Ussher Assistant Professor in Information Technology Law at Trinity College Dublin. Her recent research has focused on the regulation of direct-to-consumer genetic tests, examining the industry’s use of wrap contracts (browsewrap and clickwrap). She is currently working on a book, entitled Buying Your Self on the Internet: Wrap Contracts and Personal Genomics to be published by Edinburgh University Press. Her research interests are primarily in Information Technology Law, although she is also interested in medical law, specifically the use, storage, and treatment of sequenced genomic data and wearable health monitoring devices. She recently published the article “Only a click away — DTC genetics for ancestry, health, love…and more: A view of the business and regulatory landscape” in Applied & Translational Genomics, and her other publications and presentations may be seen at: https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=phillian and https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/andelka-phillips.
A light lunch will be provided.
For more information about this workshop, please contact Nadia Gulezko at n.gulezko@utoronto.ca.
