Family Tree DNA is basing its request on a video featuring Ed Smart, who is the father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, to show how the sharing of its genetic database with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ) led to a positive outcome. The video is to be broadcast in San Diego, where law enforcement officials were able to crack a 1979 murder after finding a link in a publicly available DNA database. The ad also appears n Family Tree DNA’s website, according to Engadget.
Family Tree DNA is a division of Gene by Gene, based in Houston, Texas. The company provides analytical services of autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA, to individuals for genealogical purposes. The company has a database of over two million records.
In December 2018, FamilyTreeDNA altered its terms of service to permit U.S. law enforcement agencies to use the database to identify suspects of “a violent crime” or, alternatively,identify the remains of victims. All users were automatically opted-in.
Following criticism from privacy advocates, the company has changed its privacy policy. With the new policy, from March 2019, Family Tree DNA is enabling customers to opt-out of law enforcement access to their genetic data. In terms of user privacy, law enforcement officials will need to apply and demonstrate a need to access data.
“Users now have the ability to opt out of matching with DNA relatives whose accounts are flagged as being created to identify the remains of a deceased individual or a perpetrator of homicide or sexual assault, also referred to as Law Enforcement Matching (LEM),” the company has written in an email to customers.
In contrast, another leading genealogy service – 23andMe – has a transparency policy explaining its privacy rules, where it indicates that it will not voluntarily work with law enforcement.
