Maryland and Montana Pass the Nation’s First Laws Restricting Law Enforcement Access to Genetic Genealogy Databases

Last week, Maryland and Montana passed laws requiring judicial authorization to search consumer DNA databases in criminal investigations. These are welcome and important restrictions on forensic genetic genealogy searching (FGGS)—a law enforcement technique that has become increasingly common and impacts the genetic privacy of millions of Americans.

Consumer personal genetics companies like Ancestry, 23andMe, GEDMatch, and FamilyTreeDNA host the DNA data of millions of Americans. The data users share with consumer DNA databases is extensive and revealing. The genetic profiles stored in those databases are made up of more than half a million single nucleotide polymorphisms (“SNPs”) that span the entirety of the human genome. These profiles not only can reveal family members and distant ancestors, they can divulge a person’s propensity for various diseases like breast cancer or Alzheimer’s and can even predict addiction and drug response. Some researchers have even claimed that human behaviors such as aggression can be explained, at least in part, by genetics. And private companies have claimed they can use our DNA for everything from identifying our eye, hair, and skin colors and the shapes of our faces; to determining whether we are lactose intolerant, prefer sweet or salty foods, and can sleep deeply. Companies can even create images of what they think a person looks like based just on their genetic data. 

Law enforcement regularly accesses this intensely private and sensitive data too, using FGGS. Just like consumers, officers take advantage of the genetics companies’ powerful algorithms to try to identify familial relationships between an unknown forensic sample and existing site users. These familial relationships can then lead law

[…]

Read the original article: Maryland and Montana Pass the Nation’s First Laws Restricting Law Enforcement Access to Genetic Genealogy Databases