The issue of genetic privacy is getting a lot of attention in
the media lately, mainly due to the role DNA has played in
identifying suspects in prominent "cold cases" like that
of the Golden State Killer. But use of these "genetic
genealogy" tools has raised concerns from privacy advocates
who fear that genetic information shared on public genealogy
databases could be misused. While "oversharing" personal
information on social media has become par for the course, it's
important to think carefully about what information you're
publishing on the internet and who might have access to that
information in the future.
How does "genetic genealogy" work?
In criminal cases, DNA is often recovered from a crime scene.
Until recently, investigators would only run the DNA through a
government database known as CODIS. However, if the suspected
perpetrator wasn't already in the CODIS database (through a
prior arrest or conviction), the investigator would be at a dead
end.
