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States Work to Pass Laws That Restrict DNA Testing in Criminal Investigations

19 Jul 2021 8:03 PM | Anonymous

There is a Constitutional issue brewing in the United States concerning the use of genetic genealogy to solve major violent crimes. Which is greater: the constitutional guarantees of personal privacy or the need to find and apprehend the culprit?

An article by Dan Grossman published in the WTVR.COM web site summarizes both sides of these contradictory issues. You can find the article at: https://bit.ly/3xQqo44.


Comments

  • 20 Jul 2021 3:58 AM | Anonymous
    Like so many news stories on the topic of forensic genetic genealogy, I take issue with how this one presents information in an incomplete and misleading manor.

    First, it doesn't even name the genealogy database they reference (it's GEDmatch), but instead just states that it's similar to 23andMe and Ancestry. This is completely misleading, as it suggests people taking those tests are somehow automatically being subjected to law enforcement DNA matching. Neither company allows this. Ancestry doesn't even have a chromosome browser. GEDmatch is not a direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, either. All the DNA samples in their database must be transferred in. Even then, the manager would have to deliberately opt in to law enforcement matching.

    Second, I can tell that the professor of civil liberties whom they interview doesn't fully understand the process or know the laws currently in place. She makes some analytical leaps stating potential future drawbacks that are unrelated and would rather have the entire practice banned than regulated.

    Third, the laws being passed by states are completely justified and do not hamper use of forensic genetic genealogy. Some states have even more restrictive laws already in place than what this story mentions. They are actually proactive laws, and none of them are in reaction to any misuse that has occurred.
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