The FBI is moving “ever closer to a universal DNA database,” as an expert told me in a story I reported for The Intercept recently. The FBI now possesses 21 million DNA profiles — equivalent to 7% of the U.S. population — a proportion rivaling that of China, not exactly a privacy haven.
Long story short, technology has once again outpaced privacy as breakthroughs in DNA processing run circles around a Congress unwilling to impose limits on our benevolent boys in blue. Breakthroughs in computer technology, not considerations of crime or national security, have precipitated the DNA explosion. Checking DNA samples against stored profiles is increasingly automated, supplanting the time consuming in-laboratory process needed up until now. Computing advancements have reduced the time it takes to analyze DNA samples from months to mere hours.
Other breakthroughs in DNA technology resemble science fiction. eDNA, or environmental DNA, is a technique that allows DNA to be gathered from thin air — including the air you exhale. The federal government is already investing in this groundbreaking technology. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offered a contract for laboratory services to assist with “autonomously collected eDNA testing”: environmental DNA testing based on samples not collected by a human being.
Unlike other biometrics like fingerprints, DNA can reveal far more about you than just your identity. “It can expose our propensity for serious health conditions, family members, and ancestry,” as one expert told me.