Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Should the police be able to investigate your genetic family tree for any crime, no matter how minor?

The New York Times – Want to See My Genes? Get a Warrant – Should the police be able to investigate your genetic family tree for any crime, no matter how minor? “…Genetic genealogy requires lots of DNA samples and an easy way to compare them. Americans have created millions of genetic profiles already. A 2018 study published in Science predicted that 90 percent of Americans of European descent will be identifiable from their DNA within a year or two, even if they have not used a consumer DNA service. As for easy access, GEDmatch’s website provides exactly this opportunity. Consumers can take profiles generated from other commercial genetic testing services, upload them free and compare them to other profiles. So can the police. We should be glad whenever a cold case involving a serious crimes like rape or murder can be solved. But the use of genetic genealogy in the Centerville assault case raises with new urgency fundamental questions about this technique…”

See also via TechCrunch: House lawmakers demand end to warrantless collection of Americans’ data

Sorry, comments are closed for this post.