A new bill in Florida that seeks to add privacy protections for people who share their DNA with third-parties unanimously passed the Senate committee late last week. It is now with the Rules committee.
Senate Bill 1402 seeks to provide an exemption from public records requirements for investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) information and materials, including any “DNA record,” such as SNPs and whole genome sequencing data.
Senator Jonathan Martin, sponsor of the bill, says it will protect people who become unwittingly involved in an IGG investigation. Although consumers need to “opt-in” to law enforcement searching when using sites like GEDmatch, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and more, Martin argued people may not realize the public ramifications of becoming involved with an investigation.
Currently, Florida law prohibits the release of DNA profiles, such as the STR profile. However, Martin says it is unclear whether or not profiles developed during IGG would remain confidential under current law.
“The profiles developed during IGG provide more information about an individual than simply the STR profile,” said the senator from Fort Myers.
Moreover, according to Martin, the bill is needed to ensure the continuation of positive relationships between law enforcement and the third-party databases. Protecting peoples’ privacy in this way could also encourage them and others to continue uploading data to genealogy sites, which has already lead to the closing of many cold cases.
“Releasing [personal] information [in response to a public records request] jeopardizes relationships with these vendors that cooperate with law enforcement and have helped lead to successful prosecution of many criminals,” he said.
Senate Bill 1402 does make an allowance for disclosure of IGG materials under a specific court order. However, the bill says the recipient of the records must maintain the confidentiality of the information, and may only disclose them publicly as determined by the court.
The bill is retroactive, meaning it would limit the disclosure of current case records if passed with the desired effective date of July 1, 2023.