Posted on 10/13/2018 5:13:59 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Everyone’s DNA sequence is unique. But for those who wish to maintain their genetic privacy, it may not be unique enough.
A new study argues that more than half of Americans could be identified by name if all you had to start with was a sample of their DNA and a few basic facts, such as the region where they live and about how old they might be.
It wouldn’t be simple, and it wouldn’t be cheap. But the fact that it has become doable will force all of us to rethink the meaning of privacy in the DNA age, experts said.
There is little time to waste. The researchers behind the new study say that once 3 million Americans have uploaded their genomes to public genealogy websites, nearly everyone in the U.S. would be identifiable by their DNA alone and just a few additional clues.
More than 1 million Americans have already published their genetic information, and dozens more do so every day.
“People have been wondering how long it will be before you can use DNA to detect just about anybody,” said Ruth Dickover, director of the forensic science program at UC Davis who was not involved with the study. “The authors are saying it’s not going to take that long.”
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I said on day one this would be done and it was decidedly Big Brotherish. I would never submit a test.
In before the “but I did it and it’s GREAT!” posts.
One of the goals of totalitarian government is to capture everyone’s DNA. They may tell you that they won’t do it, but they will.
The social security number was a retirement account number. On my card, the original, it clearly says “not for identification.” Now it’s the universal citizen ID number, necessary for financial transactions. It’s the index to our records on the files of the “credit bureaus” which took our SSN without our consent and created a file on us.
Without our consent, those files became a database that is used to “determine” if we are good persons (”credit worthy”). The government uses those databases on us. Employers use them. Woe unto you if there’s a mistake in your files! Once something is on the computer, it acquires God-like status, and cannot be questioned.
Linking your DNA capture to your SSN is the holy grail of the totalitarians.
DNA is a powerful tool that has revolutionized geneology. I added 200 years to my family tree.
Now it’s being used to track down criminals. I’m good with that.
Suckers born everyday.
Depends on your definition of a ‘criminal’ and remember that cops in the UK are policing social media for harsh language about Moslems.
Not for me. Some things are better left alone.
Problem is, even if you don’t submit, the linkages to others could be sorted out to maybe id you if they got a dna sample from you.
The LA Times doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your privacy, they care that it will be easier to catch criminals; murders, rapists, etc.
Putting my DNA profile into the public domain is my business, it is my DNA. Don’t put yours out there? That’s your business.
Worried about big brother? Get out there and actively fight them at every turn.
The same arguments were made years ago about keeping public registries of finger prints, along with photos for ID purposes.
Why shouldn’t murderers, rapists, and all other felons be identified? Seems to me that only those who have a reason to remain in the shadows don’t like it.
My sister did the DNA thing for the purpose of Geneology and yes it did add to the family tree but. Just about two months ago I got an e-mail from a lady who wanted to know some questions about my Grandfather. She tracks DNA for clients and said I have the same DNA as another gentleman. It seems my grand father was quite the rounder while he was in the ARMY. This whole thing caught me by surprise since I never took a DNA test. So just to let anybody reading this know, if anybody in you family took a DNA test your DNA is already out there.
Ruth Dickover?
Anyway, many of these services take an educated guess at filling in some of the information they provide making the results rather suspect.
https://gizmodo.com/how-dna-testing-botched-my-familys-heritage-and-probab-1820932637
Also, the info has been used to put criminals away before:
https://www.ajc.com/news/national/can-police-legally-obtain-your-dna-from-23andme-ancestry/8eZ24WN7VisoQiHAFbcmjP/
This particular Ginii is out of the bottle.
Technological advancement and growing databases will make this easier and cheaper.
In ten years, a DNA sample, like a hair or a few skin cells, will be enough to determine everything there is to know about a person. Name, finances, relationships, medical history and vulnerabilities, politics, pets, driving habits, browser search history, what kind of car they drive, and what brand of beer they drink.
In twenty-five years you will be able to do this instantaneously with your phone.
Maybe she’s related to Hyman Rickover
Now seems like the perfect time to have my and my husband’s DNA analyzed. Nothing to hide here. And if it leads the cops to a murderer who happens to be a long lost cousin, better yet.
You’re going to need a new Social Security Card.
You need the Social Security card to get one of the new Five Plus ID drivers licenses. But the DMV can’t scan in the old type Social Security card with the “Not to be used as identification” disclaimer. The computer recognizes these and will not accept them. You will have to get a new Social Security Card without the disclaimer, which is available for free, on request, so what’s your problem?!?
I think it is possible to get five factors without a Social Security Card, but I have never seen it done.
My son did his DNA thing, and he’s getting messages from people who say they’re “kin” to him. One, a “long-lost” cousin (actually MY first cousin, his second) he didn’t recognize her by her “married name”. He called me to ask if I knew them - like him, I didn’t know her “married name”, so I said, “No.
We finally figured out who she is, and he notified her of same.
It might be instrumental in identifying crime victims with no visible ID by going through “found” relatives in the DNA database.
But, we can all kiss “privacy”, goodbye.
I guess one difference here is that they don’t need your own actual fingerprints or photograph. They can get what they need from your family member’s fingerprints or photograph, along with your location, to get what they need.
I guess what they do is get dna from crime, compare with volunteered dna lists, compare with location of crime, and get discarded dna from the suspect’s discarded garbage to confirm.
Freegards
“Now it’s being used to track down criminals. I’m good with that.”
The problem is, in the future, criminal could be owning a gun, going to the wrong church, or criticizing the wrong person.
They can tell you anything they want....and you say
I wonder just how those performing the test know what each individual wants to know? They must really be powerful mind readers to be able to do that with millions of test.
I must admit, I did the ancestry.com DNA test.
And it provided me with a lot of insight about my family tree, which I’ve traced back to around the year 1000 in England.
But this price now?
Well, it is already done.
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