Two New Laws Restrict Police Use of DNA Search Method

New laws in Maryland and Montana are the first in the nation to restrict law enforcement's use of genetic genealogy, the DNA matching technique that in 2018 identified the Golden State Killer, in an effort to ensure the genetic privacy of the accused and their relatives. From a report: Beginning on Oct. 1, investigators working on Maryland cases will need a judge's signoff before using the method, in which a 'profile' of thousands of DNA markers from a crime scene is uploaded to genealogy websites to find relatives of the culprit. The new law, sponsored by Democratic lawmakers, also dictates that the technique be used only for serious crimes, such as murder and sexual assault. And it states that investigators may only use websites with strict policies around user consent. Montana's new law, sponsored by a Republican, is narrower, requiring that government investigators obtain a search warrant before using a consumer DNA database, unless the consumer has waived the right to privacy.

The laws 'demonstrate that people across the political spectrum find law enforcement use of consumer genetic data chilling, concerning and privacy-invasive,' said Natalie Ram, a law professor at the University of Maryland who championed the Maryland law. 'I hope to see more states embrace robust regulation of this law enforcement technique in the future.' Privacy advocates like Ms. Ram have been worried about genetic genealogy since 2018, when it was used to great fanfare to reveal the identity of the Golden State Killer, who murdered 13 people and raped dozens of women in the 1970s and '80s. After matching the killer's DNA to entries in two large genealogy databases, GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, investigators in California identified some of the culprit's cousins, and then spent months building his family tree to deduce his name -- Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. -- and arrest him.

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