AT-HOME DNA TESTING FIRM SHARES DATABASE WITH FBI

Family Tree DNA, one of the largest at-home DNA testing companies in the U.S., has allowed the FBI to gain access to its database of more than a million DNA profiles in order to help solve violent crimes, Buzzfeed News first reported.

Family Tree DNA in a statement to The Hill said it has tested DNA samples provided by the FBI to help “identify perpetrators of violent crimes and to identify the remains of deceased individuals.”

The company since last year has allowed the FBI to use its genealogy database, the first time a private company has allowed a federal law enforcement agency access to its DNA data to investigate crimes.

“We came to the conclusion that if law enforcement created accounts, with the same level of access to the database as the standard FamilyTreeDNA user, they would not be violating user privacy and confidentiality,” Family Tree DNA founder and CEO Bennett Greenspan said in the statement.

Investigative genealogy has played an increasingly important role in solving crimes over the past several years. Detectives have uploaded DNA collected from a crime scene to genealogy databases, enabling them to locate relatives of suspected criminals. From there, it is possible to create a genealogical tree that points law enforcement back to the suspect of the crime.

“I would be very against Family Tree DNA allowing law enforcement to have open access to their DNA database,” a research associate at the University College London told Buzzfeed News. “I don’t think it’s right for law enforcement to use a database without the informed consent of the consumer.”