Federal Agencies To Collect Genetic Info

protagoras writes "According to a bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, suspects arrested or detained by federal authorities may have their DNA forcibly collected for permanent storage in a central database. The bill is supported by the White House as well, but has not yet gone to the floor for a vote. Current law permits this only for those convicted of a crime. So even though completely innocent, should the Feds decide to detain you for any reason, your genetic data will grace their database beside that from murders, terrorists, and other miscreants." From the article: "The provision, co-sponsored by Kyl and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), does not require the government to automatically remove the DNA data of people who are never convicted. Instead, those arrested or detained would have to petition to have their information removed from the database after their cases were resolved. Privacy advocates are especially concerned about possible abuses such as profiling based on genetic characteristics."

Comments

Re:erm

[TheGavster]

There are several problems. First, with DNA on file, you can make all kinds of determinations about someone (race, predisposition to certain diseases, etc). While this data isn't an immediate threat in the hands of the government, at some point that data could make it somewhere harmful, ie your insurance company or employer. Second, at subsequent arrests, you're no longer an innocent citizen. You're a citizen who was arrested for something (that you were fully acquited doesn't seem to make much of a difference anymore). Even if you're innocent of the new charge, it's not going to be a happy arrest.

Bottom line, there's worlds of difference between "identifying data on people who have committed crimes" and "identifying data on people who we think have committed crimes".