DNA sampling expands to unethical usage

In the past 20 years the knowledge and uses of DNA, the carrier of genetic information for all living things, have come a long way. DNA has reunited family, found perpetrators of crime, and in rare cases even been successful in cloning.

A recent trend is the popularity of home DNA kits. Kits like 23andMe and Ancestry.com use DNA samples submitted by consumers to analyze and evaluate things like ancestral origins, genealogy, disease probability and more. That is one side of DNA.

The other side is used for forensic purposes. Databases, like CODIS, are used to store DNA information of criminals. This is where law enforcement goes to look when trying to track down someone in a case that they are investigating. Recently the idea of these two different uses has seemed to merge.

The practice of expanding the uses of private DNA kit samples for more than just personal use is creating a de facto national database. The genetic information acquired from personal DNA samples is being used to solve criminal investigations.

CODIS and other criminal investigation DNA databases like it are limited in the information that is stored. These type of databases only store DNA or evidence from crime scenes. Whereas, the databases and information from DNA kits store genetic tracking of people who are not considered criminals.

With a court order, investigators can track people without a criminal record or through the DNA of family members with no criminal records, which is how investigators found their suspect in the ‘Golden State Killer’ case. Investigators used a public genealogy database to track down the accused serial killer. The police in California had the killer’s DNA and uploaded it to the genealogy site GEDmatch.

Relatives of the suspect were matched with the uploaded DNA and traced it to 72-year-old Joseph DeAngelo. Investigators are so satisfied with the results that they hope to do the same with the Zodiac Killer and other cold case files. Although many people are pleased that a cold case like this has been solved, it prompts the question of ethical boundaries with the unauthorized usage of DNA.

Privacy concerns have been raised from the idea of expanding the use of DNA samples for cold cases or unsolved crimes. Most people use the kits and give DNA samples for their own personal use without thinking that their samples or data could later be publicly used for something they did not agree to.

Some have shared concerns that they will unknowingly be involved in the criminal prosecuting of their relatives, known or unknown. A major question that can be taken from this is if this is allowed even though people have not given permission to it, what other privacy breaches will be allowed in the future?

People could argue that this expansion is fair use because it would allow for the closing of many cold cases and overturning of wrongful convictions. Another argument is that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has acknowledged that this argument is flawed stating, “The ‘nothing to hide’ argument mistakenly suggests that privacy is something only criminals desire,” and the “argument also has things backwards when it suggests that we are all worthy of suspicion until proven otherwise. Our system of justice treats us all as innocent until proven guilty. That applies in everyday life.”

The expansion of DNA usage for more than what is enumerated without consent is unethical. Right now with a court order, law enforcement agencies can legally request DNA results from private labs such as GEDmatch, Ancestry.com and 23andMe. Although its ethicality is questionable, it is currently legal.

If one is thinking about trying out the DNA kits and databases that are available, there is a possibility that the information could be used for more than intended.