Jasmine McNealy, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project associate director and Telecommunication associate professor, was quoted in “One State May Become the First to Ban Law Enforcement Use of Genealogy Databases” published on routefifty.com on Jan. 21.

The article focuses on the use of genealogy databases by law enforcement agencies to help find criminals. One Utah lawmaker believes that using information from DNA databases violates the Fourth Amendment and compromises individual privacy.

According to McNealy, law enforcement accessing personal data held by third parties is not a new legal debate. “We’ve seen this problem with banking and cell phone data for a long time,” she said. “But with DNA, we immediately see the implications. It needs a higher privacy standard.”

She adds that “Opt-in options are preying on common perceptions of privacy that don’t apply to DNA. A lot of people still think along the lines of ‘if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.’ But DNA is not like that. It’s implicating your future children, your ancestors. There’s huge ramifications.”

Posted: January 22, 2020
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Jasmine McNealy