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One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

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Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#81

Post by pixl97 »

dymk wrote: post #17
odorousrex wrote: post #2

I really can't tell if we are headed towards a "1984" dystopia, a "Brave New World" dystopia, a Black Mirror "Nosedive" dystopia, or now a "GATTACA" dystopia. It seems like we're headed to a horrible hybrid combination of all of the above.

I don't mean this in a seriously snarky tone, but: What you're saying has been said by every generation which experienced great leaps in technology. Why is this wave of technology, one less transformative than the invention of the printing press or transistor or nuclear bombs (none of which lead to ruin), going to be the one that leads to a dystopia?

Books didn't keep track of you. A few transistors couldn't come close to approximate thinking. Nuclear bombs were a weapon of the last resort and may only end humanity, not enslave them.

But now our technology is becoming an approximation of the human mind. Our sensors are ever present, there is not even the illusion of privacy. Our algorithms get better everyday on predicting who you are and what you want, just by the friends you keep.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#82

Post by [deleted] »

lemmsjid wrote: post #70
emiliobumachar wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it. What political groups rely heavily on not being identified? Most political groups have leaders whose identity is public knowledge.

I think it's less about the leaders of a group than about its members themselves. When I read about the government having access to identification attributes of the general populace, I recall that a focal part of the Nazi attempts to eradicate European Jews was actually finding them. One theory for why Dutch Jews were killed at a higher rate than neighboring countries was that the government kept religious affiliatio…

[deleted]

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#84

Post by lotsofpulp »

telchar wrote: post #79
dangrossman wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and their families That's how a local cold murder case was solved last year. DNA from a 25-year-old crime scene was run against the samples in one of these genealogy databases, and they found a familial match. Police set up a sting to covertly collect DNA from that person's immediate family. They got their DNA match with a brother's water bottle police took from a trash can after he worked a DJ gig at a school. htt…

Indeed. Not that I plan on being involved in any such crimes (necessary disclaimer?) but a family member of mine submitted their DNA to one of these services. Now it's irrelevant whether I submit mine or not because it's as good as in there anyway. Feels real good having your rights signed away by someone else...

What rights? Surely if you have rights to your DNA, then your family member has rights to their DNA. It’s just an unfortunate consequence of how DNA works.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#85

Post by matwood »

rabboRubble wrote: post #47
mimixco wrote: post #3

All of the at-home DNA testing companies include this in their license agreements, including the ability to use your DNA in case any of your relatives might be accused of a crime. This is one case in which you definitely want to read the license before you sign up... then throw that test tube in the trash!

I know I'm not a serial rapist &/or murderer. I hope my family members are not. The question is: what do I value more? A society without serial rapist killers or my family? I guess I prefer a society without that sort of nonsense, so even if my DNA is used to ensnare a relative, and they were doing horrible stuff, I'd be heartbroken that a family member had gone so astray but grateful they were unable to hurt anybody…

> A society without serial rapist killers or my family?

That's the 'think of the children' argument. If that is the choice then why not full GPS surveillance or always on video cameras? The problem is that the DNA test is not 100% and will end up snaring a bunch of innocent people in a dragnet.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#86

Post by paxys »

est31 wrote: post #39

To my knowledge, in California, a genetic sample has to be recovered and stored of every baby born? The archive is run by the state government. So why do they not use this registry that they already have full control over, but the data from the DNA company?

It is most definitely easier for the FBI to get data from a private company than from California.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#87

Post by astura »

weego wrote: post #46

It's bad but not unexpected, overreach is what these people do. Day to do though everyone should be far more scared of Insurance companies getting hold of their DNA test results.

In the US GINA bans health insurance companies from using genetic data for determining premiums or eligibility.

If it were legal you wouldn't have to worry about insurance companies mining genetic databases, it wouldn't matter, they'd simply demand a DNA sample in order to be insured.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#88

Post by patejam »

WalterBright wrote: post #56
wonderwonder wrote: post #4

I am torn on this, as on the one hand it does violate privacy to a very large degree and provide massive power to the government. Things I am very much against. On the other hand, essentially all this does is provide law enforcement a means to potentially quickly identify violent criminals via physical traits as opposed to the contents of their mind such as forcing someone to unlock a phone which I am very against. A…

Let's say the government was able to perfectly connect every person who commits a crime with that crime. Combine that against the reality that everyone commits 3 felonies a day. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574438... That's the perfect tool for oppression. Do you really want the government to be too good at solving crimes?

3 felonies a day is a lie. The fact that there's a book with that title doesn't mean it's reality.

Your point is a decent one, no need to exaggerate.

Re: One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

#90

Post by kgwxd »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #45
twoquestions wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

`law enforcement a means to potentially quickly identify violent criminals` Go ahead and replace "law enforcement" with political group you don't like, and "violent criminals" for a group you do.

With regards to political groups, what would DNA tell you that their Facebook profile and network wouldn't?

People shouldn't be giving Facebook their info either.
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