On Friday, police finally arrested a suspect in the savage stabbing and murder of four University of Idaho students in November. According to law enforcement, 28-year-old criminology graduate student Bryan Christopher Kohberger was identified through DNA sourced from a public genealogy database. Kohberger’s arrest is a relief to Americans across the country, particularly the victims’ families and the traumatized Moscow, Idaho community. However, it is also a reminder that DNA technology is a dangerously unaddressed issue that poses a threat to personal freedoms, privacy, and safety.
Many wave away the privacy concerns because DNA has been used to catch criminals, including alleged murderers like Kohberger, but there’s no guarantee this technology will always be used for good. No institution on earth is incorruptible, and the FBI, CIA, and DHS have already illegally weaponized their power against the American people.
In response to alarm and outrage from users over the privacy violation, GEDmatch decided people would have the option to “opt-in” to allowing law enforcement to access their DNA. The hope was that the “opt-in” mechanism would protect the privacy of users who did not wish for their information to be shared. However, in the fall of 2019, a warrant by law enforcement in Florida demanded access to all of GEDmatch’s DNA profiles, including users who had not opted to give law enforcement access. GEDmatch complied with the warrant.
Amazed at the # of people who cling to the belief that govt has the manpower to monitor every individual 24/7. They can barely monitor what a million registrants are up to most of the time, let alone 330 million Americans.
I wish i could say that i am surprised but our, and when i say our i mean all Americans freedoms and privacy are all but gone. if you don’t think that the government and its agencies are following each and every one of us now from birth you are incredibly naïve. Soon will be the days of face recognition camera’s that china has tracking every citizen of this country all in the name of keeping us “Safe”
Even living off the grid does not mean you are out of their reach
And yet the govt allowed you to post this opinion and to do so anonymously. Huh.
You do realize that in order to post anything on any platform requires a log in with an actual email address, right? You can make up any “user name” you want, but the INITIAL SIGN UP is via your email address.
If you think Google or whatever browser you’re using doesn’t collect your data and all the websites you go to, you, sir, are living in a delusion. I want what you’re smoking.
Is not just law enforcement who can abuse this. I’m waiting for the day when health insurance companies start either denying coverage or increasing premiums based on your, or possibly your families, DNA. If they don’t have your DNA, then they could make inferences from DNA samples of family members they do have. So if your mother has a certain gene, they could say it’s likely you have it too. Then they could offer you health insurance with either a ‘rider’ that excludes coverage of a certain illness or Jack up your premium because of the perceived risk.
I don’t want my DNA to inhibit the freedoms or rights of my children. But, absent some pretty specific legislation addressing DNA privacy no matter what the use, people right are going to start getting trampled more and more.
While I generally agree with you, I was very happy the day I had to give my DNA. Explanation, if anything goes down and the local PD come see me, just because I’m on the registry, I can shut the door on their noses and tell them to come back if the DNA matches. Anything beyond that would be an easy false imprisonment case (told to me by my lawyer). As far as the legislation part, these IDIOTS can’t even elect a house speaker, let alone do some REAL legislative work.
Agreed. Moreover, the idiots in Congress can’t even fix the day light savings time problem in addition to electing a Speaker of the House. Yet, we’re all supposed to pay for their salary raises and other expenses from our coffers.
Don’t forget that RadarOnline, an online celebrity gossip rag, published an article focusing on 3 Registered Persons living near the home, and that lead to other wannabe sleuths online to focus on them, too. I wonder if any of the Registered Persons that were targeted by the RadarOnline reporter experienced any hardship as a result.
Not that I have done anything to get arrested, I was never, ever going to do a DNA or genealogy test. But my sister did an Ancestry test so that means by way of her I can be found if needed.
We throw out trash every week not realizing we are throwing out our DNA. Kleenex with our DNA, butt wipes Bandaids and more with our bood on it etc.
Yes, it is true that people and institutions are susceptible to corruptionm. As registrants we have felt singled out long after our immediate punishment has been done. But the paranoia that is an underlying theme in this article is troubling. I see this as a subtle act of fearmongering.
Nothing you do is safe. Phone calls, websites, social media, etc. Why are people required to have a phone and to have a separate GPS tracking system? Both are being used to track you. The GPS monitoring that you have to pay extra for is just another one of those grifting follow the money scenarios. One way or another you’re being tracked and monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Ben, I for one, a vast minority in today’s world am not tethered to my phone. I am 64 and still part of the “OLD WORLD” I don’t need a phone to exist. On 99% of days, my phone doesn’t even leave my coffee table. I look at it this way, There is NOBODY, REPEAT NOBODOY, not even the government that NEEDS to know where I am or what I am doing 24/7. And there is no “Constitutional Rule” that can make me do otherwise.
Make that (UN)constitutional rule
Just assume that your DNA, if handed over to any commercial service, will be subject to storage and indexing of the gov’t. It can affect not only you but loved ones who never submitted their DNA, as we saw in previous reports of triangulation through relatives. These businesses aren’t going to protect their customers, not for real. They will put on a show as if they tried. They complied with the warrant, was there any real fight on their part? Doubtful.
It’s not just your own DNA that is at risk. Say for instance your relative was suspected of committing a similar crime and your own DNA was already in possession of the govt due to a past felony conviction OR a voluntary sample you submitted to determine your heritage. Either way, the feds can get the DNA from their database or from the commercial business records holding it to compare with their suspect who is related to you.