GEDmatch acquisition calls privacy into question

Privacy of genomic data is coming into question as the company GEDmatch was used to identify a suspect in the Golden State Killer case. Crime scene evidence was matched to data uploaded to the site which continues to be used for identification in criminal cases.The terms and conditions of the site were changed to allow law enforcement to actively utilize the site as a resource. Now, with an acquisition to Verogen ( a DNA sequencing company), the site will be more useful to law enforcement. 

    Many genealogists have left the program citing changes that make the data into a product rather than a service. Though the new system requires an opt-in, it can be overridden by a warrant received by law enforcement. The new terms may also be hard to understand and unintentionally trick people. This has caused the amount of data to shrink enormously. 

    I think that law enforcement should be able to utilize sites such as this to match suspect DNA. If you put your DNA information online for everyone to see, it should be able to be used by professionals. This way more criminals could be caught leading to a safer environment. 

https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/10/21005443/golden-state-killer-genetic-database-identity-company-acquisition-crime-scene-dna-data

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/26/606060349/after-arrest-of-suspected-golden-state-killer-details-of-his-life-emerge

DNA Used to Charged Mother with Murder of her Newborn

In the winter of 1981 a newborn baby was found wrapped in a blanket with frozen tears on his checks in a ditch near Sioux Falls, S.D. The baby was never reported missing, but the residents of Sioux Falls named him Andrew John Doe. For 4 decades the child remained unidentified, but authorities finally found the mother. With genetic testing and genealogy, the police determined that Theresa R. Bentaas, a Sioux Falls resident was the mother who abandoned her newborn baby. She was arrested and is facing murder charges.

When the baby was found in 1981, the placenta was still attached and traces of blood where found nearby, but that evidence was destroyed in 1995. The investigation had no leads until 2009 by exhuming the body and obtaining DNA remains. After the DNA testing was completed no matches were found until a year later. Two possible matches were found using GEDMatch.com, which a free website that allows people to upload their genetic information. DNA has helped in forensics by solving cases that seemed impossible to solve and with more advancements it will become easier to find suspects.