Court Allows Police Full Access to Online Genealogy Database
Genetic testing has become sufficiently cheap and fast that companies like 23andMe and Ancestry have sprung up to offer consumer genetic testing services. That means millions of people have copies of their genetic profiles sitting on a server someplace for the first time, and police have taken notice. A Florida court has set a potentially troubling precedent by allowing police to access one of these online databases in full, even if users opted out of law enforcement searches.
The warrant, signed by Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in July, granted Orlando police full access to the genetic profiles stored on GEDmatch. You might remember that site from when police in California used it to track down the Golden State Killer in 2018. Police departments around the country began looking at ways to use online genetic databases to find new leaks in cold cases, but GEDmatch faced intense criticism from users who didn’t know police could snoop their DNA. Being part of police investigations wasn’t part of the deal.
GEDmatch is a bit different than companies like 23andMe in that it doesn’t provide DNA testing services. Instead, the site allows people to upload the genetic results they get from other companies to search for relatives among its user base. GEDmatch attempted to shield users from police sweeps following the Golden State Killer case by requiring officers to identify themselves on the site and only use it for serious criminal investigations. Users also had to opt-in to law enforcement access, which only 185,000 of the site’s 1.3 million users did.
Orlando Police Department Detective Michael Fields talked about the first of its kind warrant at the recent International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago. The warrant allowed the department complete access to GEDmatch’s genealogy database, regardless of whether or not users opted into police investigations. The site complied with the warrant within 24 hours. Fields says the search hasn’t yielded any new arrests, but the department has gotten some potential leads.
Privacy advocates now worry that the Florida court’s decision could encourage departments to go after larger testing sites like 23andMe, which has 10 million users, and Ancestry with its 15 million users. Whatever happens, you should keep in mind what might happen to your DNA if you put it online.
Continue reading
NASA Created a Collection of Spooky Space Sounds for Halloween
NASA's latest data release turns signals from beyond Earth into spooky sounds that are sure to send a chill up your spine.
AMD May Allow Custom RX 6900 XT Cards, Launch Stock May Be Limited
There are rumors that Nvidia may not be the only company facing production shortages this holiday season. High-end GPUs might just be very hard to find in general.
EA Will ‘Allow’ BioWare to Pull Dragon Age 4’s Unnecessary Multiplayer
EA will allow developers not to ship multiplayer in Dragon Age 4 after Anthem tanked and Jedi: Fallen Order soared. How kind of them.
TPM Trouble: Which PC Enthusiasts Are Allowed to Upgrade to Windows 11?
Microsoft's free upgrade to Windows 11 could wind up costing you money. Not for the OS, but for the additional hardware you'll need to run it.