In de Verenigde Staten maken politiediensten nu ook gebruik van privé DNA databanken om bepaalde zaken op te lossen. Het gaat om bedrijven die gespecialiseerd zijn in DNA-analyse voor onderzoek naar genetische afstamming.
Investigators are broadening their DNA searches beyond government databases and demanding genetic information from companies that do ancestry research for their customers. Two major companies that research family lineage for fees around $200 say that over the last two years, they have received law enforcement demands for genetic information stored in their DNA databases.
The companies say law enforcement demands for genetic information are rare. But privacy advocates and experts are concerned that genetic information turned over for medical, family history research or other highly personal reasons could be misused by investigators— and that the few known cases could be the start of a trend.
Law enforcement investigators seek out private DNA databases