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.
The advantage of AncestryDNA is their very large pool of customers (compared to the other companies) but they give less information. It's a dumbed-down version compared to FamilyTreeDNA or 23andMe. AncestryDNA doesn't tell you your mitochondrial DNA. The woman crying over her Nigerian hat could have found out if her mtDNA is African, European, or American Indian, from one of the other companies.
I have now had test results from 7 companies--which differ widely and in some cases have unbelievable results (compared to what I know from having researched my family tree). So the ethnic results have to be taken with a grain of salt. But they can lead you to matches who may have valuable information on your ancestors.
I have a distant cousin who turned up as a match on two of the DNA companies, who had been adopted as a baby. I and some of her other matches were able to help her figure out who her birth mother is (her adoptive parents are now dead) and she recently met her mother for the first time. Her mother is also very happy with the reunion. The pregnancy was the result of a rape and she had not even been allowed to hold her daughter after giving birth.
Most adoptees are reluctant to search because they do not want to bother their blood relatives or because they do not want to hurt their parents. I am glad the mother is happy to finally be able to meet her biological mother.
Thinking about the men who joke, "I have no children... that I know of. /smirk"
It’s not what you’re hiding that matters. As DNA research is refined and characteristics are pinpointed, you won’t be able to hide. Anything.
You get that much closer to GATTACA territory. Genetic “purity” determines whether you participate in society, or are simply made a serf or killed in the womb.
DNA sampling and analysis can be 100% retroactive punishment. Your bloodline is eliminated solely because of some trait that shows up in your DNA markers. Doesn’t matter how great you are, or how successful you are. If your DNA shows some sort of flaw, you are defective, and must be removed.
See how it works?
It is similar to those that think just because they do not have a facebook account they are not on facebook.
People post photos of family members and tag them.
Even if you never logged on to facebook your name and face is on a computer somewhere.
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