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The Forum > General Discussion > Home DNA Testing Companies are Secretly Sharing Data With The FBI

Home DNA Testing Companies are Secretly Sharing Data With The FBI

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This is about America but what is happening with these companies in Australia?

FamilyTreeDNA, one of the pioneers of the growing market for "at home", consumer genetic testing, confirmed a report from BuzzFeed that it has quietly granted the Federal Bureau of Investigation access to its vast trove of nearly 2 million genetic profiles.

While concerns about unrestricted access to genetic information gathered by testing companies had swelled since April, when police used a genealogy website to ensnare a suspect in the decades-old case of the Golden State Killer, that site, GEDmatch, was open-source, meaning police were able to upload crime-scene DNA data to the site without permission. However, the latest arrangement marks the first time a commercial testing company has voluntarily given law enforcement access to user data.

Worse, it did so secretly, without obtaining prior permission from its users.

Thanks to its millions of customers, FamilyTreeDNA’s "cooperation" with the FBI more than doubles the amount of genetic data law enforcement already had access to through GEDmatch. According to BuzzFeed, and as confirmed by the company, on a case-by-case basis the company has agreed to test DNA samples for the FBI and upload profiles to its database, allowing law enforcement to see familial matches to crime-scene samples.

There is one caveat: FamilyTreeDNA said law enforcement may not freely browse genetic data but rather has access only to the same information any user might. Which of course, is ridiculous when the FBI has the same access as every single user.

Having been caught abusing client privacy, the company decided to make the best of it and despite the (coming) outrage over privacy abuse, Family Tree officials touted their work with the FBI to BuzzFeed.

“Without realizing it [Family Tree DNA founder and CEO Bennett Greenspan] had inadvertently created a platform that, nearly two decades later, would help law enforcement agencies solve violent crimes faster than ever,” the company said in a statement.

One wonders how many paying clients would have "opted in" had they known they were also sharing their DNA with the FBI.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/article/70753/one-of-the-biggest-athome-dna-testing-companies-is-secretly-sharing-data-with-the.html
Posted by Philip S, Sunday, 3 February 2019 7:23:26 PM
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I has a friend on facebook have two tests which came back with different reports. It appears DNA tests are unreliable.
Posted by Josephus, Monday, 4 February 2019 10:32:45 AM
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I would love to go back to the time when every door & window could be left open when people went out.

If to achieve that it meant the testing & recording of the DNA of every person at birth, or on arrival in Oz, with no exceptions allowed, I would happily accept that as the cost of a return to a better country to live in.

As I see it, only those who did not want some of their actions discovered & made public could really object. Once testing was done, perhaps many may restrict their actions to those not detrimental to anyone else.
Posted by Hasbeen, Monday, 4 February 2019 11:06:39 AM
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Hasbeen Quote "As I see it, only those who did not want some of their actions discovered & made public could really object."

Then you would also say.
It would be okay if all people spied on each other and reported to LE anything, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Random checks on the contents of everyone computer, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Security cameras on every corner, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Listen in on every phone call, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Open and read every letter, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Strip search everyone at the airport, because I am not doing anything wrong.

Also do you smoke, drop a cigarette butt, or even a strand of hair, someone who does not like you picks it up and drops it at the scene of a crime. Easy to frame someone now but easier then, but I did nothing wrong, tell it to the judge when it gets to court.

Quote "I would love to go back to the time when every door & window could be left open when people went out." So would everyone with a brain on this forum.
Posted by Philip S, Monday, 4 February 2019 12:32:33 PM
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Phil,

This is old news.
Posted by Shadow Minister, Monday, 4 February 2019 1:32:10 PM
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Shadow Minister Quote "Phil, This is old news."

The article is dated - Sat, 02/02/2019 - 11:44

Also I don't remember seeing in the rules that old news if someone wants to post it is not allowed
Posted by Philip S, Monday, 4 February 2019 1:47:05 PM
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