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Publication

Review of policies of companies and databases regarding access to customers’ genealogy data for law enforcement purposes

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

The rapidly evolving popularity of direct-to-consumer genetic genealogy companies has made it possible to retrieve genomic information for unintended reasons by third parties, including the emerging use for law enforcement purposes. The question remains whether users of direct-to-consumer genetic genealogy companies and genealogical databases are aware that their genetic and/or genealogical data could be used as means to solving forensic cases. Our review of 22 companies' and databases' policies showed that only four companies have provided additional information on how law enforcement agencies should request permission to use their services for law enforcement purposes. Moreover, two databases have adopted a different approach by providing a special service for law enforcement. Although all companies and databases included in the study provide at least some provisions about police access, there is an ongoing debate over the ethics of these practices, and how to balance users' privacy with law enforcement requests.
Journal: Personalized Medicine
ISSN: 1741-0541
Issue: 2
Volume: 17
Pages: 141 - 153
Publication year:2020
BOF-keylabel:yes
IOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:0.1
CSS-citation score:2
Authors from:Private, Higher Education
Accessibility:Open