The market for at-home DNA testing services has skyrocketed in the past 5 years. At first, privacy concerns were largely swept under the rug but mainstream crime cases, like the apprehension of the Golden State Killer, have brought the issue to light.
For example, GEDmatch, the hobbyist genetic geology website, has become the standard database for law enforcement, helping to solve more than 80 cold cases, including high-profile ones. After some starts and stops, GEDmatch’s terms and conditions recently changed to require customers to explicitly “opt-in” for searching by law enforcement. Even with those changes, a search warrant for the entire database has been successfully executed in the past.
However, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, almost half of Americans are on board with that. The survey, conducted in summer 2019, reveals that 48 percent of Americans believe it is acceptable for DNA testing companies to share customers’ genetic data with law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes. Thirty-three percent say it is unacceptable, with 18 percent on the fence.
Breaking down the data further, education and salary level didn’t appear to play a role in how the survey respondents answered. Race is not a huge factor, either, with 51 percent of white respondents and 49 percent of Hispanic respondents calling it acceptable for DNA testing companies to share data with law enforcement. Black respondents report a slightly less acceptable range at 46 percent.
Interestingly—and somewhat surprisingly—there is not a large difference between respondents that lean and identify as Republican versus Democratic. Republican respondents report a slightly larger acceptance at 52 percent compared to Democrats at 47 percent. One-third of both Republicans and Democrats responded not acceptable.
When comparing demographic, the largest differences can be seen between gender and age.
Women are more accepting of DNA data sharing (53 percent), while men are less (43 percent). Additionally, 40 percent of men were firm in classifying the practice as not acceptable, while only 27 percent of women respondents felt that way.
By far, age plays the largest role in respondents’ beliefs. Only 42 percent of the 18- to 49-years-old group considers the practice acceptable, compared with 56 percent of their 50+ counterparts. Thirty-six percent of the younger demographic said it is not acceptable, with 21 percent answering “not sure.” Meanwhile, 29 percent of the 50+ demographic indicated sharing DNA data of customers was not acceptable, while 15 percent said they were unsure.
In September 2019, the Department of Justice released an interim policy on forensic genealogical DNA analysis and searching that clarifies law enforcement must exhaust all other options and techniques before turning to consumer DNA databases. A final policy will be issued this year.
Photo credit: Pew Research