Posted on 11/19/2017 8:41:02 AM PST by TaxPayer2000
Millions of people have handed their DNA over to genetic testing companies like Ancestry or 23andMe to learn more about their family trees.
But when you ship off your saliva, law enforcement could have access to your DNA.
Police could use genetic information it gets from those companies to identify you in a criminal investigation, even if you’ve never used one of those services.
Jacksonville resident Eric Yarham wanted to learn more about his family tree, so he mailed off his saliva to 23andMe.
“Just trying to unravel the mystery that is your genetics,” said Yarham, who lives in the Riverside area. “That lingering 0.3 percent is sub-Saharan African. So that’s swimming around in my DNA." Yarham had no idea police could request his genetic information.
Both 23andMe and Ancestry confirm your genetic information could be disclosed to law enforcement if they have a warrant.
Action News Jax asked 23andMe Privacy Officer Kate Black whether the company notifies customers about that possibility before they mail in their DNA. “We try to make information available on the website in various forms, so through Frequently Asked Questions, through information in our privacy center,” Black said.
According to the company’s self-reported data, law enforcement has requested information for five American 23andMe customers.
So far, the company reports it has not turned over any information.
But Black said she wouldn’t entirely rule it out in the future.“We would always review a request and take it on a case-by-case basis,” Black said.
Ancestry self-reports that it complied with a 2014 search warrant to identify a customer based on a DNA sample.
Spokespeople at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and the Florida Department Of Law Enforcement told Action News Jax they don’t recall any local investigations in which genetic testing information was requested from a private company.
The departments said they don’t know for sure.
“The police make mistakes and I would rather not be on the unfortunate end of one of those mistakes, as a result of my DNA being somewhere that is unlucky,” Yarham said.
But it doesn't even have to be your DNA; if a family member who shipped off their saliva to one of these companies, law enforcement can request their genetic information for “familial matching.”
“They can see what the likelihood is of these certain alleles, of these genetic markers, matching up to make it -- likelihood of whether you were involved in, let’s say, that criminal activity or not,” said Jacksonville Dr. Saman Soleymani, who has studied genetics extensively and been an expert witness in local criminal cases.
Soleymani said he didn't take any chances when he sent his DNA to 23andMe. “I literally sent my kit saying my name is Billy Bob,” he added.
If you or a family member has sent in your genetic material to Ancestry or 23andMe, both companies allow you to delete your DNA results.
“They still need a warrant.”
Hackers don’t need one.
So,along with wasting your money,you're foolishly giving the prosecution a weapon that jurors just might fall for.
Non-issue, but sure to get the cop haters fired up. Please explain how this is any different than cops getting a court order via a search warrant to order someone to provide a DNA swab?
Yes, they meant 'wipe it ... like with a cloth'
Your DNA doesn’t have to be an exact match, just close enough.
And if think that’s BS, just wait until the insurance companies, and your employers get a hold of that information.
Once that door is opened, it will be close to impossible to shut it.
My neighbor’s Alaskan Malamute could be just the ticket for something like that. That dog will eat right out of my hand. That way, I can “identify as” an Alaskan Malamute if I ever decide to.
“Your prints may be in a police database. You leave fingerprints around constantly, which might be inconvenient at the scene of a crime.”
Those are “voluntary acts.” My fingerprints are on file with the FBI because I once held a SECRET Clearance. And if you are a criminal, it probably behooves you to “wipe” your prints at the scene of your crime. But when you do something like give a DNA sample for the purposes of identifying your ancestry, that should not give law enforcement “license” to get your data. It now the same thing with the “event computer” in your car. The airbag system is constantly monitoring key vehicle parameters as you drive, and if there is a bag deployment, the system stores the data it has immediately prior to deployment. So now the cops are trying to subpoena this information in traffic accident investigations. But it’s the same story, you own that information, because you own the vehicle, and therefore it’s covered under 5th Amendment protections. But don’t worry, the next generation of on-board car computers will transmit vehicle data to the cops as you drive by.
Or did not do.
A bunch of adoptees use this service to find out where they came from, at least in general.
I have nothing to fear from the truth. It must suck going through life with a secret under wraps. People get paranoid like that...
Hospitals have been recording babies DNA for years.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/04/baby.dna.government/index.html
Bet they do the same every time your family physician orders a blood test or other lab test. Remember that flu shot? Where did the needle end up? And that cute little dental hygienist may have sent off your drool.
But I’m certainly not going to pay Ancestry.com $99 to give my DNA to whomever.
Mostly false. It will tell you a lot if others have tested and have a paper trail. A Y-DNA test will track your male surname back to the 1600s. Using that it's easy to piggyback off others who match your DNA.
Autosomal atDNA will track back 4-5 generations.
They can get your DNA from many places if they want it. Having said that, I don’t have any inclination to put my DNA into the hands of 23andMe or any other company.
Several years ago, I went into a Wells Fargo bank to cash a Wells Fargo $20 check. They wanted my finger print. That’s just one in a very long list of reasons I refuse to deal with those crooks.
Most states require finger prints to renew drivers licenses.
It wouldn't be the first time US intelligence agencies
created phony companies to gather data or to do other things.
Anyone who ever went through the process of becoming a federal employee or any former military personnel already knows that the fed-gov has their DNA, fingerprints photo and every other piece of personal information.
No, it doesn’t. It does not give you the information on “who” your ancestor was. What was his personality? What were his beliefs? How did he raise his family? What church did he attend? What type house did he live in? You will never know who he was through DNA.
>>>There’s no such thing as deletion. Once in the system, always in the system. “
Hillary did it
There was a recent story about one of the VPs that got fired over the Wells Fargo brouhaha. He got mad about it and spilled the beans on the guy who fired him, who subsequently got fired too. Karma, baby.
What about being implicated in a crime you did not do? I would err on the side of privacy and being anonymous.
Years ago when working as an IT systems engineer, I and others were fingerprinted to continue having access to the computer mainframe facilities. We were told it would never be used against us nor handed over to authorities, it was only for authorizing access to rooms. Not too long after, managers were handing it over to police because of suspected theft. So, it was all a lie.
Let's say you had innocently placed your hand on something and left your fingerprint there. Then that object becomes an article implicated in a crime. Now you are a suspect in that crime, even though you are innocent. It happens, and causes grief to you should that happen. Possibly even false conviction and incarceration. I would be wary of those who say "Relax, you're perfectly safe and what are you worried about?".
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