EFF to Supreme Court: The Fourth Amendment Covers DNA Collection

Re:EFF to Supreme Court: The Fourth Amendment Covers DNA Col... by snowwrestler on Thursday February 19, 2015 @04:16PM (#9077115)

I don't think one can expect privacy in a public place; the police can photograph you walking through a public park without a warrant. In fact, anyone has the right to photograph you in a public place.

It seems to me that there is at least an argument that dropping your DNA in a public park is not very different.

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Re:EFF to Supreme Court: The Fourth Amendment Covers DNA Col... by Retra on Thursday February 19, 2015 @09:37PM (#9078587)

You can absolutely expect certain kinds of privacy in a public space. (Like with up-skirt photos, for instance?) The question that needs to be resolved is if collecting DNA violates people's privacy in an unreasonable manner. I think this really falls back on the question of what harm you can do to someone with their DNA.

The EFF apparently feels that you could do quite a bit of harm with it, if not today, then very soon. To me, it seems just about as bad as stalking someone.

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Re:EFF to Supreme Court: The Fourth Amendment Covers DNA Col... by snowwrestler on Saturday February 21, 2015 @10:37PM (#9088117)

> You can absolutely expect certain kinds of privacy in a public space. (Like with up-skirt photos, for instance?)

I upvoted you, but I'll say for the record: this is an excellent point.

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Re:EFF to Supreme Court: The Fourth Amendment Covers DNA Col... by wickedlogic on Thursday February 19, 2015 @04:32PM (#9077223)

Thats why we are proposing a non-profit group to collect dna samples 'left' in public places by politicians... right?

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