GEDmatch’s revamped genetic privacy policy could set off legal battles that go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
had bent its published rules to allow police in Utah to search for relatives of the perpetrator of a violent assault, the website changed its terms of service so that users now have to explicitly opt in for their DNA profiles to be included in law enforcement searches.
GEDmatch’s move follows a backlash from some genealogy enthusiasts against a decision to let its database be used in the case of a 17-year-old arrested for a violent assault on an elderly woman in Centerville, Utah. “In some of our Facebook groups, the reaction was really strong,” Debbie Kennett, a genealogist and honorary research associate at University College London, told BuzzFeed News.
“As people opt in, this will become the database I’ve been advocating for,” Leah Larkin, a genealogist in California who has argued that law enforcement searches should obey the principles of informed consent, told BuzzFeed News. The chance of finding relatives in a DNA database depends on its size. And the effective size of GEDmatch for police searches has suddenly dropped from around 1.2 million to zero. “The fear is that there are going to be active offenders who could have been taken off the street, but will now not be,” Holes, the lead investigator on the Golden State Killer case, said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
DeSantis: Russians accessed 2 Florida voting databasesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Russian hackers gained access to voter databases in two Florida counties ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday.
Read more »
While some states are restricting abortion, others move to bolster accessWhile many states are restricting abortion, these states attempted to protect abortion rights.
Read more »
27 Products To Help You Finally Solve The Problems You've Been NeglectingDenial can't organize your purse.
Read more »
MLB hires Trump-allied lobbying for guidance on helping solve the 'trafficking' of Cuban baseball playersMajor League Baseball hired a Trump-allied lobbying firm 'for guidance on finding a solution that ends the human trafficking of Cuban baseball players,' according to a league spokesman.
Read more »
Could Blockchain Solve Our Growing Privacy Issue?Could blockchain be the answer to the privacy crisis we are facing? Let’s take a look at how personal privacy protection with blockchain could be the solution.
Read more »
Facebook restricts Live feature, citing New Zealand shootingFacebook Inc said on Tuesday it was tightening rules around its livestreaming fe...
Read more »
New low: Trump breaks record denying press accessThe Trump administration has now gone 66 days since its last formal press briefing, the longest for any administration in the past 26 years. MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber breaks down how the Trump White House continues to “press, test, attack and shatter all kinds of obligations of government to see what it can get away with.”
Read more »