The FBI broke its own privacy rules to catch a murder suspect by secretly accessing DNA databases that were supposed to be off-limits to law enforcement, according to newly released court documents.
As reported in The New York Times, FBI investigators identified Bryan Kohberger as a suspect in the University of Idaho murders after tapping restricted consumer DNA databases — GEDmatch and MyHeritage — despite Department of Justice policies forbidding such access. The databases were meant to be available to law enforcement only if users explicitly consented.
Former FBI lawyer Steve Kramer defended the move as necessary in serious cases, but privacy advocates warn that without firm legal boundaries, genetic surveillance will continue expanding far beyond what people consented to when they took recreational DNA tests.
"I think what we are teaching law enforcement is that the rules have no meaning," said NYU law professor Erin Murphy, who specializes in DNA and policing issues.
Previously:
• 23andMe's meltdown: How to protect your DNA from falling into wrong hands
• The privacy-invading, junk science 'home DNA test' industry is cratering
• The FBI has the DNA profiles of 21.7 million people
• When you take a commercial genetic test, you opt your whole family into warrantless state genetic surveillance
• Insurance companies already refusing coverage on basis of genetic risk
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