Using At-Home DNA Tests for Criminal Investigations – A Call for a Collective Approach to Investigative Genetic Genealogy

Abstract

"Tens of millions of people worldwide have taken a commercial at-home DNA test out of interest in their genetic ancestry, disease risks, cilantro taste aversion, or athletic performance capacities. Yet, this consumer DNA data is also of interest to law enforcement: the data can be used to identify criminal suspects. By uploading a genetic profile from an unknown suspect, found at the crime scene, to a database with consumer’s genetic data, one could find a distant relative of the suspect. Through the mapping of this relative’s family tree, police can eventually zero in on the actual perpetrator. However, this investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) raises ethical concerns. In this presentation, I aim to contribute to the bioethical analysis of IGG by exploring the limitations of an individual-based model for IGG. I discuss two ethical concerns of IGG: privacy and informed consent. However, I argue that IGG raises specific ethical challenges that extend beyond these two autonomy-related concepts. Because of the far-reaching scope to identify even very distant relatives, IGG could identify a vast majority of a target population, thus making it also a collective issue. I explore how the ethical approach of individual consent and relatives in the biomedical genetic context can be helpful for the debate on IGG. Additional ethical concerns arise from the international, transgenerational, and commercial nature of IGG. I call for a more collective approach to IGG in the ethical debate. "