“It might be reassuring for those using similar services in the UK to know that it would be highly unlikely that similar access would be granted here. However, in November 2019, law enforcement in Florida was granted a warrant to search GEDMatch’s database, including users who had not opted in.Ĭommenting on the Florida warrant in 2019, Brian Higgins, security specialist, said it is unlikely that a similar thing could happen in the UK.
The US Department of Justice has also released guidelines that forensic genaeology should only be used in the investigation of violent crimes or in the identification of human remains. In May 2019, GEDMatch, which was acquired by forensic genomics company Verogen that year, changed its privacy rules, requiring users to “opt in” to their data being accessed by law enforcement, limiting the number of profiles available to law enforcement in investigations. Since the Golden State Killer investigation in 2018, some of the regulations surrounding this have changed.
However, in its guide for law enforcement, the company says that “in certain circumstances, however, 23andMe may be required by law to comply with a valid court order, subpoena, or search warrant for genetic or personal information”. In the past, 23andMe has said that it “has never turned over any customer data to law enforcement or any other government agency” and “chooses to use all practical legal and administrative resources to resist requests from law enforcement”, with having a similar stance. This has concerned experts who believe it could set a precedent for the use of genealogy databases in investigations, risking users’ anonymity. Last year, Buzzfeed reported that genetic testing company Family Tree DNA had granted the FBI permission to search its database in violent crime cases, the first time a private database has been used in this way (GEDMatch is a public database). GEDMatch is thought to have helped US law enforcement in over 70 violent crime cases according to Buzzfeed, but privacy advocates have expressed concerns over users being unwittingly drawn into criminal investigations, with law enforcement permitted to access their DNA data without their consent. This is arguably a valuable resource for law enforcement, but issues arise when the privacy of those who have uploaded a DNA sample, and even those that have not, comes into question. In the past, law enforcement has been able to upload fake profiles including a DNA sample from a suspect, without first disclosing that it is part of a criminal investigation. This means that a sizeable proportion of the population has uploaded a DNA sample to a commercial DNA database such as 23andMe or .Īccording to Science Mag, roughly 60% of white Americans have a relative’s DNA on the GEDMatch database, meaning that many people who have never uploaded DNA data can be linked to DNA samples from a third cousin or closer. As of February 2019, roughly 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test, according to Technology Review.
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