Violating the 4th, Again

[legion]

Safeguard your DNA. Once it's out there, you can NEVER get it back, and big brother can access it at their leisure. Even if a close family member has done this, you may be screwed.

Police can request your DNA from 23andMe, Ancestry | WJAX-TV

Millions of people have handed their DNA over to genetic testing companies like Ancestry or 23andMe to learn more about their family trees.

But when you ship off your saliva, law enforcement could have access to your DNA.
Related Headlines

Police could use genetic information it gets from those companies to identify you in a criminal investigation, even if you’ve never used one of those services.

Jacksonville resident Eric Yarham wanted to learn more about his family tree, so he mailed off his saliva to 23andMe.

“Just trying to unravel the mystery that is your genetics,” said Yarham, who lives in the Riverside area. “That lingering 0.3 percent is sub-Saharan African. So that’s swimming around in my DNA." Yarham had no idea police could request his genetic information.

Both 23andMe and Ancestry confirm your genetic information could be disclosed to law enforcement if they have a warrant.

Action News Jax asked 23andMe Privacy Officer Kate Black whether the company notifies customers about that possibility before they mail in their DNA. “We try to make information available on the website in various forms, so through Frequently Asked Questions, through information in our privacy center,” Black said.

According to the company’s self-reported data, law enforcement has requested information for five American 23andMe customers.

So far, the company reports it has not turned over any information.

But Black said she wouldn’t entirely rule it out in the future.“We would always review a request and take it on a case-by-case basis,” Black said.

Ancestry self-reports that it complied with a 2014 search warrant to identify a customer based on a DNA sample.

Spokespeople at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and the Florida Department Of Law Enforcement told Action News Jax they don’t recall any local investigations in which genetic testing information was requested from a private company.

The departments said they don’t know for sure.

“The police make mistakes and I would rather not be on the unfortunate end of one of those mistakes, as a result of my DNA being somewhere that is unlucky,” Yarham said.

But it doesn't even have to be your DNA; if a family member who shipped off their saliva to one of these companies, law enforcement can request their genetic information for “familial matching.”

“They can see what the likelihood is of these certain alleles, of these genetic markers, matching up to make it -- likelihood of whether you were involved in, let’s say, that criminal activity or not,” said Jacksonville Dr. Saman Soleymani, who has studied genetics extensively and been an expert witness in local criminal cases.

Soleymani said he didn't take any chances when he sent his DNA to 23andMe. “I literally sent my kit saying my name is Billy Bob,” he added.

If you or a family member has sent in your genetic material to Ancestry or 23andMe, both companies allow you to delete your DNA results.

[legion]

My point is that even if you haven't signed up, you may still have consequences.

[Evans, Marv]

I wonder if this also applies to studies where they ask you to submit a sample of saliva saying you will never be identified, and your sample will remain as part of a data pool.

[widgeon13]

Millions of people have handed their DNA over to genetic testing companies like Ancestry or 23andMe to learn more about their family trees.

I think these companies are just ridiculous and sucking people in.

Can we get Elizabeth Warren to try it?

[Chocaholic]

Paranoia. A tin foil hat will protect you.

[Tobra]

You think this is simply paranoia, really?

[peppy]

What is the difference in the government getting your DNA from a company or from them collecting it directly from you. The government still needs a warrant. I guess the former you pay for it and the latter the government pays for it.

I'm just asking, I would not give them my DNA.

[widebody911]

both companies allow you to delete your DNA results.

Another classic, right alongside "The check is in the mail" "It's just a cold sore" and "Corporations will use the tax breaks to give workers raises"

[wildthing]

They already have my DNA. I just assumed that it is a price to pay to become a citizen. There was a medical exam through a third party (drew blood), a fingerprint scan through a third party, a multitude of forms signed, at least one probably authorizing the disclosure of the results to the government, maybe even a clause to send samples over...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I guarantee if you’ve ever served, they have it already. Pretty soon it’ll be a selective service requirement to prove it’s really you (but of course you won’t even have to show an ID to vote lest the democrats lose their illegal immigrant “gimmee more free stuff” voting block).

[Brando]

If law enforcement has a warrant that is (usually) due process. If the customer did not opt to destroy their sample of will be held on to. Just like your search results, your social media profiles, etc.

Here's a good video talking about the process: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3EEmVfbKNs

[legion]

Originally Posted by Brando

If law enforcement has a warrant that is (usually) due process. If the customer did not opt to destroy their sample of will be held on to. Just like your search results, your social media profiles, etc.

Here's a good video talking about the process: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3EEmVfbKNs

Not if one of these companies gets a "John Doe" (general) warrant. In other words, send the government all the DNA, they'll see if one matches anyone they are looking for...

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by legion

Not if one of these companies gets a "John Doe" (general) warrant. In other words, send the government all the DNA, they'll see if one matches anyone they are looking for...

Legally, that could not happen^^, as it's the classic example of a "fishing expedition. We can always argue that the "government" could do it anyway, but it is not part of due process and should be the topic of another thread. The government could send the name of a suspect, along with a warrant, and ask for the DNA profile. Or, it could send the profile it had from a suspect/crime and ask for identification, but that too would require a court order. These private companies are not part of the law enforcement data base that can be drawn upon at the whim of the government.

Having your genetic material "out there" doesn't necessarily mean your DNA can be identified. There are not too many facilities that keep blood samples or tissue samples indefinitely, and unless the DNA has been extracted and identified, those samples disappear. Do people really think that the blood taken when one is arrested for DUI is sent off to a lab for DNA analysis and the blood sample is kept forever? DNA analysis is expensive and time consuming--there are backlogs for it in most major jurisdictions. Law enforcement saves that process for serious investigations, not to build a data base of all people it encounters.

I'm sure there are situations where genetic material is kept, and DNA can be extracted from those at a later date. I'm not in the medical profession, but possibly hospitals and those undergoing surgery do have samples saved or DNA extracted--don't know--but even in those situations, HIPPA laws protect release of information without proper court authority.

Could the government abandon due process and get DNA from sources that have them? Of course, laws for protection are only good if they are respected. It's important that the public be aware of due process, and their privacy rights, to insure they are upheld. Allowing your DNA profile to be held by a private company does run risks--let's not forget hacking of data bases--but the risk of identification as a suspect in a crime rests with due process, if that due process is upheld and followed.

And that is a big "If."

[legion]

Well, the government respects due process when it intercepts and stores all of my online communications. For that, a secret court issues general warrants to make it nominally "legal". (You know, just like the Constitution outlines. )I'd expect the government to show the same respect for due process with DNA databases. There's no temptation for abuse there...

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

Legally, that could not happen^^, as it's the classic example of a "fishing expedition.

And the IRS could never discriminate against only certain political groups either. YOu say they can't but tell me how many people have been charged with (no less, prosecuted) for doing this?

[RKDinOKC]

If you are all that worried, just change your DNA. Several factors can change your DNA, from drugs to diet, and even prolonged mental attitude. DNA is not the individual personal identification they claim it is. There are even medical treatments that in order to "cure" an illness modify your DNA.

If arrested for DNA evidence, make them take a new sample a prove a 100% match.

[Borders Reivers]

Lol

[tabs]

What do ya mean "Im Black?"

[GG Allin]

I don't really see this any different than having your picture taken.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

I don't really see this any different than having your picture taken.

Your soul is captured when you have your picture taken.