Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This morning the McClathy newspaper chain started a series of stories that question whether Ancestry and other companies that do genealogical DNA can be trusted with your most personal information. It's a fascinating read. My local newspaper ran it on the front page this morning. There will be more stories appearing throughout the week.
Anyone's thoughts? By the way, I have been reluctant to submit a genealogical DNA test for many of the reasons sited in this story. I still do my genealogy the old fashioned way, one record at a time.
After I posted this I realized that it's probably not a coincidence that McClatchy is running these stories about genealogical DNA. McClatchy's flagship paper is the Sacramento Bee, and Sacramento is the home of the Golden State Killer. Nearly all of the initial coverage about the Golden State Killer came from the Sacramento Bee (McClatchy).
A little bird tells me that someone in the Sacramento police department tipped off a reporter at the Bee several weeks in advance, telling them that the Golden State Killer would be caught in the near future using genealogical DNA. That's why they started this investigation into Ancestry DNA more than 3 months ago. This story was probably developed as a sidebar "evergreen feature" to go along with the Golden State Killer coverage when it finally broke.
When I was a newspaper reporter decades ago, I saw stories that played out this way.
This morning the McClathy newspaper chain started a series of stories that question whether Ancestry and other companies that do genealogical DNA can be trusted with your most personal information. It's a fascinating read. My local newspaper ran it on the front page this morning. There will be more stories appearing throughout the week.
Anyone's thoughts? By the way, I have been reluctant to submit a genealogical DNA test for many of the reasons sited in this story. I still do my genealogy the old fashioned way, one record at a time.
I feel it is a bit of a scam. I am really tired of every black person saying, "I am 30% Swedish," or white people saying, "I am 30% African." I do not trust the info because so much of it also contradicts family members intel.
The article is an interesting example of hyperbole, truth and mis-understanding. I wonder if the author even read Ancestry's privacy policy? I did, and its not bad as such things go. Our biggest risk is this:
Quote:
We may share your Personal Information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to:
Comply with valid legal process (e.g., subpoenas, warrants);
...
If we are compelled to disclose your Personal Information to law enforcement, we will do our best to provide you with advance notice, unless we are prohibited under the law from doing so.
Of course, this would apply even without the statement in their privacy terms.
The bigger problem to me is that Sacramento police opened a can of worms with their actions, noble as the results may be. The ones that will suffer the most are not the Ancestrys, but the sites that offer public access, like the police used.
It's also probable that such police actions will continue to be rare, and genealogists will be more wary of sharing. How many police forces can invest the man(people?) hours this took for one case? Not many I'd guess. How many genealogists will cooperate with law enforcement in the future, recognizing the questionable ethics (do police even have ethics?) of creating a misleading DNA account?
This is from an Ancestry report, with my bolds. Sleep well:
Quote:
Overview
Ancestry received 34 valid law enforcement requests for user information in 2017. We provided information in response to 31 of those 34 requests.
All the requests were related to investigations involving credit card misuse and identity theft.
We refused numerous inquiries on the basis that the requestor failed to obtain the appropriate legal process. We received no requests for information related to genetic information of any Ancestry member, and we did not disclose any such information to law enforcement.
National Security Requests
As of December 31, 2017, Ancestry has never received a classified request pursuant to the national security laws of the United States or any other country. In other words, Ancestry has not received a National Security Letter or a request under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
This morning the McClathy newspaper chain started a series of stories that question whether Ancestry and other companies that do genealogical DNA can be trusted with your most personal information. It's a fascinating read. My local newspaper ran it on the front page this morning. There will be more stories appearing throughout the week.
Anyone's thoughts? By the way, I have been reluctant to submit a genealogical DNA test for many of the reasons sited in this story. I still do my genealogy the old fashioned way, one record at a time.
I feel it is a bit of a scam. I am really tired of every black person saying, "I am 30% Swedish," or white people saying, "I am 30% African." I do not trust the info because so much of it also contradicts family members intel.
It isn't a scam. The DNA matching works, I found people I had no idea I was related to. And yes, I have the primary source records to back up the DNA results that my family tree was wrong; somebody's daddy wasn't their daddy.
The ethnicity reports are estimates based on existing knowledge. They may or may not be accurate for everyone. Best advice is to take the percents with the grain of salt.
It isn't a scam. The DNA matching works, I found people I had no idea I was related to. And yes, I have the primary source records to back up the DNA results that my family tree was wrong; somebody's daddy wasn't their daddy.
The ethnicity reports are estimates based on existing knowledge. They may or may not be accurate for everyone. Best advice is to take the percents with the grain of salt.
That makes some sense.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
reply
