Have you ever thought about how one small DNA sample could allow police to predict a suspect’s traits before an investigation even begins?
LiSTNR’s new podcast, Secrets We Keep: Should I Spit?, is raising alarms about the hidden dangers of DNA testing.
The dark side of a simple DNA test
Hosted by investigative journalist Claire Aird, the podcast explores how personal genetic data is being used by corporations, law enforcement, and even religious organisations, often without people fully understanding the risks.
In an interview on The Briefing this morning, Aird discussed how millions of people who submit their DNA for health or ancestry testing may be unknowingly putting their privacy at risk.
“So, you actually only need about one to two per cent of the population in a database to identify everyone,” she said.
One of the most concerning stories featured in the podcast involves a man whose DNA was linked to a crime 3,000 kilometres away, despite never taking a DNA test.
“So, you can maybe imagine that when police started to look at this guy because his DNA linked him to a crime scene, they started looking at his filmography, which included a film about a murder,” Aird said.
The podcast also covers new DNA technologies that allow police to predict a suspect’s traits and appearance before an investigation even begins.
“Police in Australia, as in many other countries around the world, are pushing ahead with these new DNA technologies, which take DNA from this basic tool of identification into a form of intelligence,” she added.
“[Police use] family history databases to identify people as part of an investigation into either, for example, a murder, or it could be a missing person’s case as well. When all other avenues of investigation have been exhausted, they’re also using what’s called DNA phenotyping.”
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