Trying to unravel the mystery of your genetics through programs like 23andMe.com or Ancestry.com can also help police unravel a criminal investigation.
That saliva sample sent to those genetic testing companies with the purpose of learning more about your ancestral history doesn’t just belong to you.
With a warrant, it can also belong to law enforcement, company officials say.
With the genetic information it gets from the organizations, police can identify suspects in a criminal, credit or identity theft investigation. So far, officials have requested information for five U.S. 23andMe customers, according to the company’s website.
So far, 23andMe has not turned over any genetic information, but would do so on a case-by-case basis, 23andMe privacy officer Kate Black told WJAX. Both 23andMe and Ancestry include warnings within their privacy policies.
“We try to make information available on the website in various forms … through Frequently Asked Questions, through information in our privacy center,” Black said.
According to Ancestry’s website, the company “requires valid legal process in order to produce information about our users. We comply with legitimate requests in accordance with applicable law.”
In 2016 the company received numerous requests from police requesting the DNA of its users, but only nine were in compliance with the law, El Nuevo Herald reported. Out of those nine, Ancestry shared information with eight government agencies, all related to the improper use of credit cards and identity theft, according to its Transparency Report.
The genetic testing companies will notify users of law enforcement requests only if it doesn’t compromise an investigation.
But whether you’ve used the services or not, police can still identify you if a family member used one of the genetic testing tools through “familial matching.”
“They can see what the likelihood is of these certain alleles, of these genetic markers, matching up” to determine the “likelihood of whether you were involved in, let’s say, that criminal activity or not,” genetics expert Saman Soleymani told WSB-TV.
According to Ancestry and 23andMe, the companies allow customers to delete DNA results online.
(Note: But do they remove it from their database and will law enforcement have access after deletion?
)
That saliva sample sent to those genetic testing companies with the purpose of learning more about your ancestral history doesn’t just belong to you.
With a warrant, it can also belong to law enforcement, company officials say.
With the genetic information it gets from the organizations, police can identify suspects in a criminal, credit or identity theft investigation. So far, officials have requested information for five U.S. 23andMe customers, according to the company’s website.
So far, 23andMe has not turned over any genetic information, but would do so on a case-by-case basis, 23andMe privacy officer Kate Black told WJAX. Both 23andMe and Ancestry include warnings within their privacy policies.
“We try to make information available on the website in various forms … through Frequently Asked Questions, through information in our privacy center,” Black said.
According to Ancestry’s website, the company “requires valid legal process in order to produce information about our users. We comply with legitimate requests in accordance with applicable law.”
In 2016 the company received numerous requests from police requesting the DNA of its users, but only nine were in compliance with the law, El Nuevo Herald reported. Out of those nine, Ancestry shared information with eight government agencies, all related to the improper use of credit cards and identity theft, according to its Transparency Report.
The genetic testing companies will notify users of law enforcement requests only if it doesn’t compromise an investigation.
But whether you’ve used the services or not, police can still identify you if a family member used one of the genetic testing tools through “familial matching.”
“They can see what the likelihood is of these certain alleles, of these genetic markers, matching up” to determine the “likelihood of whether you were involved in, let’s say, that criminal activity or not,” genetics expert Saman Soleymani told WSB-TV.
According to Ancestry and 23andMe, the companies allow customers to delete DNA results online.
(Note: But do they remove it from their database and will law enforcement have access after deletion?
)
or was it the coli?
