FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) advised customers in an email Tuesday they have changed their terms of service, privacy statement, and other processes which govern how law enforcement may use their site.
The Houston-based company appears to have acted rather quickly after the BuzzFeed report, One Of The Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working With The FBI, was published at the end of January, causing an uproar in the genetic genealogy community.
Now, as of March 12, FTDNA requires all law enforcement authorities to register accounts under a special process, designed specifically for law enforcement and third parties working with law enforcement, which allows them to participate in the DNA matching program.
Law Enforcement Matching Opt-Out Option
If you do not want wish to be matched with these designated law enforcement registered users, you have the ability to opt out by adjusting your Matching Preferences, which now includes an option to opt-out of Law Enforcement Matching.
User accounts created prior to March 12, 2019 that are flagged as an EU account have been opted out of Law Enforcement Matching, but may choose to opt in.
If you opt out of Law Enforcement Matching, these accounts will not be able to see you as a match, but you will continue to see them as a match.
Law Enforcement Registry
FTDNA has made changes to their privacy statement and terms of service to allow law enforcement authorities to upload DNA files to their DNA database and utilize their DNA matching service in certain limited circumstances and only if they comply with their specific procedures and processes.
The updated privacy statement and terms of service require law enforcement, as well as any authorized representative working on behalf of law enforcement, to register all genetic files through a separate process prior to uploading to the database. Permission for law enforcement to upload genetic files will only be granted upon submission, review, and approval of all required documentation by a qualified staff member and under limiting circumstances as defined in FTDNA’s Law Enforcement Guide. The genetic file must be submitted by law enforcement and/or their legally authorized representative for the purpose of identifying the remains of a deceased individual or a perpetrator of a homicide or sexual assault.
FamilyTreeDNA Citizen’s Panel
In its email, FTDNA wrote, “We are deeply grateful to our FamilyTreeDNA community for its support and input as we navigate this new and unexpected era of law enforcement’s use of genetic genealogy databases, like FamilyTreeDNA’s. We appreciate all of you who have shared your ideas and suggestions over the past few weeks.
“To that end, we have created the FamilyTreeDNA Citizen’s Panel comprised of seven individuals with various backgrounds in genealogy, genetic genealogy, and bioethics with whom we will continuously share and review initiatives that could have a potential impact on user privacy.”
The following seven members were selected to join the panel:
- Katherine Borges — director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)
- Kenyatta Berry — professional genealogist and host on PBS’s Genealogy Road Show
- Roberta Estes — an early adopter of genetic genealogy and FamilyTreeDNA volunteer group project administrator
- Maurice Gleeson — genetic genealogist, speaker and organizer of the Genetic Genealogy Conference in Ireland, and FTDNA volunteer group project administrator
- Tim Janzen — long-time genealogist, genetic genealogy lecturer for Oregon’s local ISOGG group and other genetic genealogy conferences, and FTDNA volunteer group project administrator
- Amy McGuire — lawyer and Leon Jaworski professor of Biomedical Ethics and director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine
- Bob McLaren — an early adopter of genetic genealogy and FTDNA volunteer group project administrator.
Further information is available in the Law Enforcement FAQ.
The email message is available here.
