FBI gains access to popular home DNA kit database | Fox News
In its privacy statement, FamilyTreeDNA makes it clear that your personal information is never shared with third parties without additional consent. Your genetic information will never be shared with “pharmaceutical or insurance companies, employers, or third-party marketers without your express consent.” The terms of service got updated in December to state (in Section 6.B.xii) that law enforcement can make use of the database to “identify the perpetrator of a violent crime.” Sexual assault, rape, homicide, and the remains of a deceased all fall under that category.
Bennett Greenspan, president and founder of FamilyTreeDNA’s parent company Gene by Gene, released a statement explaining, “We came to the conclusion that if law enforcement created accounts, with the same level of access to the database as the standard FamilyTreeDNA user, they would not be violating user privacy and confidentiality.” The company later further clarified by stating, “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.”