IT’S THE LAW (06/08/2021)
Maryland and Montana are first in the U.S. to restrict police use of DNA matching. The new laws are consistent with increasing privacy concerns about use of consumer genetic data. Maryland’s new law will require a judge’s sign-off before DNA markers from a crime scene can be matched against genealogy data. Montana will require investigators to have a search warrant before being allowed to use a consumer DNA database – unless the individual’s right to privacy has been waived.