In 2019, Libertas Institute received SPN’s Bob Williams Award for Biggest Win for its landmark data privacy law. Building on that success, Libertas is working to secure passage of the country’s first DNA privacy law. With millions of people providing their DNA to obtain health and family relationship information, these databases are now a tempting resource for law enforcement.

DNA use in criminal justice can be very useful to exonerate innocent individuals, for example. But because people share DNA with others, it raises questions about whether a person can consent to share their DNA with law enforcement, thereby consenting on behalf of their relatives who share that DNA—some of whom may wish to remain private. Libertas published a policy brief on the issue and will advance model legislation to lock these DNA databases down so the government cannot use them to conduct a mass search of innocent individuals.