'There's No Going Back'

Dec 27, 2019

This week, “The Daily” is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened since the stories first ran. Today: the unexpected story of how family history websites have been used by law enforcement to track down suspects and win convictions — and why retroactive regulation won’t be able to reverse the trend. Guest: Heather Murphy, a reporter at The New York Times who spoke with CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist, and Curtis Rogers, a creator of the genealogy website GEDMatch. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 

Background reading:

• Today, we revisit Part 2 of our series on genetic privacy. If you’d like to catch up on the full story, make sure to listen to Part 1 as well.
• Do you think your DNA profile is private? A warrant granted by a judge in Florida could open up all consumer DNA sites for use by law enforcement agencies across the country.
• At a conference this fall, “rockstars” of the DNA industry and top law enforcement officers grappled with how to regulate the use of genetic material in policing. They also practiced solving murders together.
• Here’s how to protect yourself if you take a genetic test at home.

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