Why The World Needs GEDMatch
While some genetic genealogists have endured a crisis of confidence, recent events have renewed my dedication to advancing modern society via science and technology.
Law enforcement used GEDMatch, genetic genealogy’s killer app, to help identify a suspect in California’s Golden State Killer case. Investigators converted genetic data from the Golden State Killer crime scenes into a file format compatible with GEDMatch, uploaded the data to the site, found relative matches, collected and interpreted pedigree data, and winnowed the universe of potential suspects down to a single individual. Law enforcement agents then surveilled that individual and collected his discarded DNA. The discarded DNA matched the original crime scene DNA and led to the subsequent arrest of Joseph DeAngelo.
The click bait journalism coverage that followed inspired mass hysteria about genealogical DNA testing. Reporters lusting for the orgasmic thrill of screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater realized their wet dreams, plying news outlets with shoddy and frenzied reporting to alarm the public. The Golden State Killer coverage – full of speculation, errors, omissions, oversimplifications, misconceptions, and misinformed opinions - drove some family historians to stop using GEDMatch. Knowing what actually happened, I won’t.
As a genetic genealogist, I won’t remove or privatize my GEDMatch kits nor will I discontinue recommending others join the site. I tour the nation lecturing on genetic genealogy, frequently delivering lectures that instruct the audience on maximizing one’s productivity with GEDMatch. I have no plans to discontinue that either.
GEDMatch offers invaluable analytic tools that commercial direct-to-consumer DNA testing outfits lack. In doing so, GEDMatch enables users to reassemble families fractured by historic diaspora and social upheaval across the globe. GEDMatch has facilitated reunions and insights that eluded users of the other genetic genealogy sites. Using GEDMatch, I have demolished centuries of brick walls in family trees to identify enslaved ancestors and the ancestors who enslaved them, sired them, and copulated with them. Using GEDMatch, I have identified the American GI fathers of orphans in Southeast Asia. Using GEDMatch, I have reconnected families separated for 150+ years and split across multiple continents. We need GEDMatch.
In a field increasingly consumed by narcissism and greed, social media mavens (also known as The LOL-OMG-Everybody-Look-at-Me Brigade) now purchase DNA tests as ethnicity calculators, posting admixture results as molecular selfies, “quantified self” content likely to elevate their Klout scores. Some DNA testing companies, blinded by the shine of a new nickel, have implemented marketing strategies that position DNA tests as the 21st century mood ring: a means to a new version of you or the punchline to a bad joke. Outfitting their sites with useless gimmicks and kitschy interfaces, some DNA testing companies have too often made the mistake of turning DNA, one of nature’s most powerful tools, into a toy.
GEDMatch, on the other hand, offers a refuge for genealogists seeking to escape the gimmickry and instead wield genealogical DNA tests for their intended purpose: genealogy. GEDMatch recognizes the power of DNA, letting us leverage the strength of the tie that binds us all to illuminate the most intimate moments of human history. GEDMatch emancipates genetics from the Ivory Tower and places digital instruments for parsing genetic information in the hands of citizen scientists. The users’ discoveries (including, ironically, the outcome of the Golden State Killer investigation) provide significant societal benefits, bringing resolution and reconciliation to countless individuals, families, and communities.
The Golden State Killer case raises several ethical issues. GEDMatch wasn’t designed for law enforcement searches, even if they don’t constitute an obvious breach of the site’s terms of service. GEDMatch users didn’t explicitly consent to participate in those types of endeavors. I neither condone nor support law enforcement officials or their civilian agents using GEDMatch in their investigations. Some genetic genealogists may applaud colleagues for performing this type of forensic genealogy, but the Machiavellian approach to engaging GEDMatch in law enforcement collaborations failed to consider the implications for GEDMatch or the site’s 900,000+ users. Whatever one’s stance, these ethical concerns require rational and deliberative discussions followed by appropriate action, not viral panic and paranoia.
We should support and celebrate GEDMatch as an incomparable genetic genealogy sandbox and avoid endangering this humanitarian resource. I hope that most realize GEDMatch’s value and will continue connecting families across the planet.
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