Fast forward to 2019, and suddenly the movie seems prophetic of what could really be taking place in the very near future, albeit based on information supplied by DNA rather than by psychics.
As reported by Zero Hedge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is determined to create a database containing the DNA of virtually every human in the country, and at least three recent developments are working together to make it likely that they will reach their goal.
For one thing, Congress has approved legislation allowing police officers to collect and test DNA samples immediately after arresting people. Additionally, in 2017, President Trump signed the Rapid DNA Act, which allows law enforcement officials to use special rapid result instruments to create DNA analyses from DNA samples and then to include these samples in the FBI’s DNA database, known as CODIS.
And, finally, several important court judgments have recently been handed down allowing police to take DNA samples from people who have been arrested but who have not yet been convicted of a crime. (Related: WI police will now forcibly take DNA samples from ALL citizens convicted of misdemeanors.)
Soon we could be a society where the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” is only a distant memory.
The "modern fingerprint"
The police like to refer to DNA as the “modern fingerprint.” All humans shed DNA all the time, making it an excellent way to catch those who have committed crimes. What is DNA? Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA as it is commonly known, is a long molecule present in virtually every cell in the human body which contains the “recipe” for what each individual human looks like, the specifics of their personality, their specific character traits and flaws, etc. No two people share the exact same DNA, which means that when police find traces of DNA at a crime scene it can prove exactly who committed a crime … if they can be sure that the DNA does not belong to somebody else.
The problem with DNA from a privacy and Fourth Amendment perspective is that it contains information like whether a person is predisposed to be a follower or a leader, a peacemaker or a troublemaker, etc. If the FBI starts arresting people who they believe are likely to commit crimes in the future based on their genetic programming it will be a slippery slope that could have us living in a Minority Report-type world in no time.
Beware of what you share
You might feel that none of this need concern you. Perhaps you are a normal, even-keeled, law-abiding citizen and believe it is unlikely that the FBI will ever get their hands on your DNA. Think again. There are multiple ways in which the FBI can access your DNA, and you might even be handing it to them willingly by using genealogical and ancestral services. As reported by Zero Hedge:
Even hospitals have gotten in on the game by taking and storing newborn babies’ DNA, often without their parents’ knowledge or consent. It’s part of the government’s mandatory genetic screening of newborns. However, in many states, the DNA is stored indefinitely. …
For the rest of us, it’s just a matter of time before the government gets hold of our DNA, either through mandatory programs carried out in connection with law enforcement and corporate America, by warrantlessly accessing our familial DNA shared with geneological services such as Ancestry and 23andMe, or through the collection of our “shed” or “touch” DNA.
If you believe that the government will only ever act honorably and with your best interests in mind, then you need not be concerned. For many observers, however, an examination of past governmental behavior leaves them very uneasy about what the FBI is likely to do with this information.
Learn more about government overreach at BigGovernment.news.
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