I gave the police access to my DNA—and maybe some of yours
1 min read
Summary
Police have increasingly been turning to people’s DNA uploaded to private genealogy databases to catch criminals who have avoided detection for many years.
However, such databases are unregulated and operate via a “mishmash of private labs and unregulated websites”, according to90785859REPORT_Environmental_Safety_,_Health_and_Security__330ano the article, meaning that whilst they have solved hundreds of crimes they are also open to abuse.
Privacy advocates oppose DNA databases, but scientists estimate that including 2% of the US population, or 6 million people, would be enough to identify the source of nearly any crime-scene DNA due to the extent of genetic relatives that most individuals have.
One solution would be to create a national DNA database, but this would require new laws and debate regarding how it should be used.
As such, the article argues for increased regulation around the “flimsy” terms of service agreements of existing private DNA databases.