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

I has a friend on facebook have two tests which came back with different reports. It appears DNA tests are unreliable.

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.

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.

Phil,

This is old news.

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

Hasbeen said- I would love to go back to the time when every door & window could be left open when people went out.

Answer- If there were less people in Australia in a more homogeneous society where everyone understands everyone else we could probably leave the doors open. In such a society everyone knows when someone is doing something tricky.

Phil,

There have been stories about the FBI catching rapists etc based on DNA match with data bases from these genetic testing companies for a while, and long before the story above.

Remember the FBI can subpoena this info anytime, and so can our government.

True Canem Malum, but seeing we have filled our country with a pile of useless human garbage, we are never going to get back to a smaller population, or a homogenous one either.

I will accept a loss of my privacy, never a major interest to me anyway, to make the community we now have more law abiding.

This combined with automatic deportation of any migrant for any offence worse than jay walking, & we might get some semblance of the community we once had.

Shadow Minister What you are saying is true but irrelevant here.

No one but a criminal would like to see Australia full of criminals LE could not catch.

The point of posting this was to inform that a common Christmas present being the home testing kits, could have privacy issues compromised.

Now the big problem for young people is DNA can be used by insurance companies to reject claims or refuse to insure people, employers could use it to hire or not hire people depending on what future discoveries may show.

Do you know what we will be able to learn from a simple DNA sample in the future no you don't, neither do I but the young generation may not like it companies will, it could end up determining their whole future.

Shadow Minister Another possibility.

For hypothetical purpose I will say you are 58 YO, you have an accident the ambulance comes calls in that they will need air ambulance to get you to a specialized hospital for emergency surgery by a team of trauma surgeons, the person arranging this asks what is the patients name and DOB, types it into the computer. Up come your details age etc also DNA information and a little red flag for say congenital heart disease or some other terminal or hereditary illness, arrived at from your DNA it also indicates that your life expectancy is 61 years. What sort of care do you think you are going to get now?
Assuming that you are not a millionaire.

Phil,

Firstly only law enforcement officials can subpoena information,

secondly, congenital defects are generally not hereditary.

thirdly, doctors tend to try to do the best for their patients, and that information would prove helpful.

Quote "Firstly only law enforcement officials can subpoena information"

Quote "secondly, congenital defects are generally not hereditary."
Nit picking, if the comment made no sense I could understand you reply but (or some other terminal or hereditary illness), two can play that game.

Money talks, if insurance companies want that data they will get it, even if only on a case by case basis.