FamilyTreeDNA and law enforcement
Feb. 2nd, 2019 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutThere is an article in Bloomberg (paywall, maybe?) about law enforcement using FTDNA, not just GED Match, to make sense of DNA samples in a criminal investigation.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-01/major-dna-testing-company-is-sharing-genetic-data-with-the-fbi
“FamilyTreeDNA’s cooperation with the FBI more than doubles the amount of genetic data law enforcement already had access to through GEDmatch. On a case-by-case basis, the company has agreed to test DNA samples for the FBI and upload profiles to its database, allowing law enforcement to see familial matches to crime-scene samples. FamilyTreeDNA said law enforcement may not freely browse genetic data but rather has access only to the same information any user might.”
If I had a DNA sample, say, and I uploaded it to FTDNA and I said it was me and maybe filled out a bunch of information about “me”, I would get “matches”. It is not at all obvious to me how much more than this the FBI is getting. If I did this on Ancestry, and it matched me to a private tree, I’d get a little message saying, ask nicely and maybe they will share with you. Even this, normal user level of access, would be super helpful in making sense of DNA evidence in a criminal investigation.
Also, I really hope that this information can be used to resolve missing person cases and cases of unidentified bodies. Bringing resolution to victims’ loved ones is a huge accomplishment, even when one cannot identify a Bad Guy and Bring Them to Justice.
There is a lot of room in any privacy debate, never mind one involving biological samples, for well-meaning people to disagree. I, personally, am not finding this particularly concerning, because I generally feel like it is better if law enforcement gets quickly to an accurate conclusion, versus bumbling around for decades and not actually getting to anywhere useful and stressing out people of interest and causing undue distress to the victim and/or victim’s families. But I’ll also be paying attention to see what else happens.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-01/major-dna-testing-company-is-sharing-genetic-data-with-the-fbi
“FamilyTreeDNA’s cooperation with the FBI more than doubles the amount of genetic data law enforcement already had access to through GEDmatch. On a case-by-case basis, the company has agreed to test DNA samples for the FBI and upload profiles to its database, allowing law enforcement to see familial matches to crime-scene samples. FamilyTreeDNA said law enforcement may not freely browse genetic data but rather has access only to the same information any user might.”
If I had a DNA sample, say, and I uploaded it to FTDNA and I said it was me and maybe filled out a bunch of information about “me”, I would get “matches”. It is not at all obvious to me how much more than this the FBI is getting. If I did this on Ancestry, and it matched me to a private tree, I’d get a little message saying, ask nicely and maybe they will share with you. Even this, normal user level of access, would be super helpful in making sense of DNA evidence in a criminal investigation.
Also, I really hope that this information can be used to resolve missing person cases and cases of unidentified bodies. Bringing resolution to victims’ loved ones is a huge accomplishment, even when one cannot identify a Bad Guy and Bring Them to Justice.
There is a lot of room in any privacy debate, never mind one involving biological samples, for well-meaning people to disagree. I, personally, am not finding this particularly concerning, because I generally feel like it is better if law enforcement gets quickly to an accurate conclusion, versus bumbling around for decades and not actually getting to anywhere useful and stressing out people of interest and causing undue distress to the victim and/or victim’s families. But I’ll also be paying attention to see what else happens.