Community Chat

[LoriLori]

If anyone cares the site where this family member of his submitted her (supposdly she's female) results of her DNA tests to is a voluntary sharing site called

GEDMATCH

and they warn everyone their DNA may be used for other purposes.

Ancestry and 123andme would not cooperate with law enforcement.  And will continue not to.  So if you don't want to know if there's a felon in your family don't upload your results from Ancestry or 123 to GEDMATCH.

[pitdakota]

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@LoriLori wrote:

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@LoriLori, I suspect there will be a huge debate over this and possibly a battle in court.  It could seriously undermine the businesses who do the analysis if people thought their results could be used for purposes other than which they submitted samples for.  Privacy issue certainly.  LM

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@Lilysmom, no court battle.  They have said no and they have that right.  And I can't imagine them adding a line to sign for permission, because that's an invitation for them to mess it up and give the wrong people's DNA over and then come the lawsuits.

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Yes, I have a big problem with it because of what happened in the Angie Dodge murder investigation.  48 hours did a show about this.  In that case they did a search on a public DNA site owned by Ancestry.  They found a familial match.  Based on that and only that, the police obtained a warrant for the information & they had to comply.  Ancestry says to this day that do not willingly turn over information to law enforcement but if they are served a warrant for DNA information they have to comply.

Turns out the guy who didn't even know the victim was brought in for questioning and became a suspect in the murder. It was his father that fit the familial match they discovered from the warrant.  But the father didn't fit the profile of the killer, so they looked at his male offspring, and that is how Michael  Ursy found himself at the center of a murder investigation.

They did test his DNA specifically and he was not a match, but he went through quite a bit of worry and stress wondering how he became  a suspect in a murder for someone before the actual DNA results came back and he was cleared.  Scary stuff.  

Here are 2 links about that case:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-dna-of-a-killer-who-murdered-idaho-teen-angie-dodge/

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/ancestry-com-caught-sharing-dna-information-police-warrant/

[LoriLori]

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@Trinity11 wrote:

I would give my permission. I have zilch to hide. 

I did Ancestry.com and plugged in the results to Prometheus Labs. Everything was accurate and it was good information for my children.

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@Trinity11, I wonder if Prometheus Labs is similar to GEDMATCH, the uploading site where they got him.

[Trinity11]

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@LoriLori wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

I would give my permission. I have zilch to hide. 

I did Ancestry.com and plugged in the results to Prometheus Labs. Everything was accurate and it was good information for my children.

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@Trinity11, I wonder if Prometheus Labs is similar to GEDMATCH, the uploading site where they got him.

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I have no idea. I am adopted and received information that showed I inherited my Type 1 diabetes and carry the gene. A lot of my auto immune diseases were inherited. It was worth it for me to get the information. I am not worried about the security of my information.

[suzyQ3]

I personally don't understand the notion that if you are a law-abiding citizen, you should have no problem with your DNA being public property. That's logic that could be used to excuse all sorts of privacy invasions.

I am not a privacy nut by any stretch, but I think we have to be very careful when it comes this brave new world.

[Burnsite]

I think it would depend.  I have heard that some of these sites sell their info to other parties, so why not share info with police enforcement?  Do they want a fee? 

I had a criminal invade my home and he was caught because he signed my name to a check he stole.

Criminals, this taught me, are fairly stupid.  If a criminal sends DNA out, and is a mass murderer, what kind of not only monster but _fool_ is this person?

Casual disclosures, no.  An inquiry on a mass murderer evading justice?  I think they should sketch in a guideline or two about circumstances where they will disclose to police. 

[Its Me LuLuBelle2]

@whitedogs, I agree withyou 100%, but sometimes we're all too eager to voluntarily give up our personal information without a 2nd thought. I don't Facebook, Instafram, Twitter, etc. Have zero interest in DNA testing.

Many years ago I received a questionnaire from the Federal court system, Southern District of NY, for potential jury duty. I filled out the form, but did NOT provide my SS#. I figured the chances of getting called were slim to nil and there was absolutely no reason for me to have my SS# accessible to Lord only knows how many people. Long story short, I was called, served on a jury for almost a month, received my $40/day but was never asked for my SS#. The following year I received a tax form from the feds, showed it as earned income on my taxes and there was no issue at all. Another time I went to a chain pharmacy with a prescription and was asked by the pharmacist for my SS#. When I asked him why he needed it, he responded,"oh, that'show we file our customers." Took my script back and went elsewhere. I know from a company I formerly worked at how complacent some get with sensitive, personal information. Be wary of what you're willing to tell and how it's being handled.

[LoriLori]

For those who are interested int this, here is a Youtube video where lead cold case investigator Paul Holes explains how they matched his DNA on GEDMATCH (from a fourth cousin and they started back in the 1800s!!!!) --

-- and then a lawyer talks about the DNA sites' facts and implications, including for health insurance, which some of you brought up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_sdV7QPlB4

[stevieb]

If they get permission up front that's one thing, if they don't then the material submitted is confidential and should not be shared with anyone. So yes, I'd mind if it was put out there for whatever reason.

[MarieIG]

I'm conflicted. I am interested in getting the DNA information for health purposes. I really don't want to share it without consent. On the flip side, I understand the importance of protecting the public from violent criminals. Is my right to privacy more important then removing an active pedophile from the streets? Hopefully, a reasonable balance can be reached. I suspect eventually, we'll all be fingerprinted and DNA swabbed at birth. (Due to my profession I was thumb printed way back.)