Genealogists who hoped to one day soon see a big increase in the number of DNA matches in France had their hopes dashed Friday when members of France’s National Assembly rejected all amendments in a bill to legalize consumer DNA tests.
The members even went a step further by toughening the law. An amendment was adopted to ban advertising for “recreational” genetic testing.
Since advertising of consumer DNA kits on television and online is already banned in France, there has been no clarification on how broad the term, advertising, should be interpreted in the new amendment and whether this will ban all forms of promotion, such as those found on blogs, websites and YouTube.
According to an article in the French magazine, Généalogie, it was the MyHeritage ads on television that were the target of the advertising ban.
Friday’s vote does not affect the €3750 fine, which has never been applied, for people who buy DNA tests.
In response to a question on Twitter, genetic genealogist Debbie Kennett (@DebbieKennett) said, “The French can’t stop people ordering overseas and no one is ever prosecuted.”
This is terrible. I was hoping it would be legal there. My father gave a statement when dying that he may have had a child in France when stationed there in 1960s and I was hoping to find them