WASHINGTON _ Nearly two years after the arrest of the suspected Golden State Killer revitalized DNA forensics, some state lawmakers around the country are pushing to stop or restrict police searches of genetic code databases.
Other lawmakers, meanwhile, want to make it even easier for police to use the technique, known as investigative genetic genealogy, to catch criminals.
Inspired by the capture of the alleged Golden State Killer, police across the United States are uploading crime-scene DNA to GEDmatch and other databases where purchasers of genetic testing kits from companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry can share their DNA in hopes of finding long-lost relatives.
Arrests have been made in dozens of cases _ many that had been considered cold. Advocates of the practice tout the ability to find people who committed horrible crimes and exonerate those who did not.
"I believe, 100%, that DNA is the greatest tool ever given to law enforcement to find the truth, whatever that is," said Anne Marie Schubert, independent district attorney of Sacramento County, Calif., where the suspected Golden State Killer was arrested.
But law enforcement's use of the DNA databases has opened another front in the growing battle over digital privacy. Should third parties _ in this case, police _ have access to personal data people generate by using consumer technology? And should investigators be allowed to use the technique to solve all crimes, or only the most violent ones?
Americans are divided on whether police should use investigative genetic genealogy to solve crimes, according to a recent study released by the Pew Research Center. (The Pew Charitable Trusts funds the center and Stateline.) In a June survey of more than 4,200 U.S. adults, 48% said they were OK with DNA testing companies sharing customers' genetic data with police. A third said it was unacceptable, and 18% were unsure.
"What we have right now we can call the Wild West. There aren't a lot of rules on the ground," Natalie Ram, an associate professor of law at the University of Maryland, said in an interview. "State legislatures are one of the best-situated bodies to engage in rule-making in this area."
A state representative in Utah introduced a bill that would ban genetic genealogy searches by police. A Maryland lawmaker introduced a bill to regulate searches _ after a proposal last year to ban them failed. In New York, a state senator has proposed a policy to allow the searches. A Washington state proposal would allow only searches requested through a valid legal process.
And three direct-to-consumer testing companies have formed a coalition and are lobbying Congress for federal oversight to restrict police access to their databases and protect consumer privacy.
Schubert expressed skepticism about legislative proposals cropping up.
"If they want to weigh in on it, that's fine, as long as they understand what it is, how it works and what it does and doesn't do," she said. "It shouldn't be a race to see who can be the first to ban it or vice versa."
