Food for Thought: Familial DNA, Google Street View and Privacy Rights

Submitted by JTjaden on Sat, 07/10/2010 - 15:40

This is a good summary of the questions involved in the apprehension of a murder suspect, and new technology intruding onto our lives

Via boingboing

As far as I know, this is the first "familial DNA" arrest in California. There are some concerning privacy implications, particularly when one combines physical data-gathering (collecting DNA not just from the suspect but from relatives or others in the suspect's social network) with the sort of ambient, online data-gathering manifest in services like Google Street View. No one will argue that a serial killer should roam free, or that all available technology shouldn't be used to solve violent crimes, particularly a case involving as many deaths over as many decades as this one does. But how might these technologies be mis-used in the future? Guess we'll find out.