FTDNA PRESS RELEASE JAN 31 2019 FINAL

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violating user privacy and confidentiality. In order for the FBI to obtain any additional information,
they would have to provide a valid court-order such as a subpoena or search warrant.”
Working with law enforcement to process DNA samples from the scene of a violent crime or
identifying an unknown victim does not change our policy never to sell or barter our customers’
private information with a third party. Our policy remains fully intact and in force.”
As specified in FamilyTreeDNA’s Terms of Service – law enforcement can only receive
information not already accessible to the standard user by providing FamilyTreeDNA with valid
legal process, such as a subpoena or a search warrant.
In order to, at their request, assist law enforcement, the Gene-by-Gene laboratory will generate
SNP data profiles from samples submitted by law enforcement, which can then be uploaded to all
public DNA databases, one of which belongs to FamilyTreeDNA, by law enforcement officials in
their effort to build the suspect’s or deceased individual’s family tree. In the case of
FamilyTreeDNA, without a valid court order, law enforcement will only be able to see information
that is available to the standard FamilyTreeDNA user.
Additionally, as part of FamilyTreeDNA’s continued commitment to ensuring their customers’
privacy, customers have the ability to opt out of the matching feature in their account settings. By
opting out of matching, a user cannot see their DNA matches nor can they be seen as a match by
anyone else.
According to Greenspan, “If we can help prevent violent crimes and save lives or bring closure to
families, then we’re going to do that. We’re going to do it within a framework that continues to
ensure that the privacy of our customers, which has been paramount to us since day one and
remains so today, is protected to the greatest degree possible.”
Soundbites:
Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder of Gene-by-Gene and FamilyTreeDNA
Connie Bormans, PhD, Laboratory Director, Gene-by-Gene
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y4rsm3qjgo8gxg2/AABu1lcJHBUPnBcENzUEEWnFa?dl=0