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News on DNA Privacy

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From Dick Eastman’s blog March 2020:

DNA Testing Kits: What Are the Privacy Risks?

Call me paranoid but I do believe that some people who have their DNA tested are not aware of all the privacy issues. Quoting from an article by Victoria Mcintosh, a Certified Information Privacy Technologist, as published in the CompariTech web site at http://bit.ly/3csasuC:

Warrant Issued Permitting Police Full Access to GEDmatch Database

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/business/dna-database-search-warrant.html

Schumer Wants DNA Test Companies Investigated

Nov. 26, 2017 (UPI) — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Federal Trade Commission Sunday to investigate companies that provide ancestry DNA results due to potential privacy concerns. “What many consumers don’t realize is that their sensitive information can end up in the hands of unknown third-party companies,” Schumer said,

A recent  Gizmodo report analyzed the terms and conditions of several DNA test companies  and found that these companies can claim ownership of one’s DNA, that it is unclear who has access to your DNA and that information can get leaked.

An article by Judy G. Russell | Dec 11, 2016  “Read the Fine Print”  http://www.legalgenealogist.com provides another perspective.

New Developments:  Golden State Killer identified through genealogy sites:
Dick Eastman  https://blog.eogn.com/2018/04/26/dna-that-cracked-the-golden-state-killer-case-came-from-genealogy-websites/
Fox News  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/26/golden-state-killer-caught-using-relatives-dna-from-genealogy-websites-prosecutors-say.html
NBC News Golden State Killer suspect’s capture sparks DNA site privacy fears

Someone Else’s DNA Can be Used to Identify You
Dick Eastman · October 12, 2018 ·
More than 60 percent of Americans who have some European ancestry can be identified using DNA databases — even if they have not submitted their own DNA, researchers reported Thursday.
Enough people have done some kind of DNA test to make it possible to match much of the population, the researchers said. So even if you don’t submit your own DNA, if a cousin does, it could lead people to you.
Details may be found in an article by Maggie Fox in the NBC News web site at: https://nbcnews.to/2CckjVT.

 

October 16, 2021

 

Melissa Johnson, Using Vital Records

Melissa Johnson, CG, returns to the Forum with a lecture about how to use birth, marriage, death, and divorce records to build your family tree. Discover records that can substitute for vital records that are unavailable, as well as records that can be located based on information found in vital records. While geared toward beginners, this talk will also appeal to more experienced researchers.

     Johnson specializes in researching families from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the British Isles, as well as in DNA testing for adoptees and unknown parentage, dual citizenship, and lineage society research.


Bethpage Public Library
47 Powell Ave.
Bethpage, NY


 There will be a ZOOM presentation.

Members with email addresses on file will be invited about one week in advance.
If you don’t receive an invitation, please contact memberstream@ifhf.org


We look forward to being able to resume our in-person meetings at the Bethpage Public Library, 47 Powell Ave., Bethpage, New York, on October 16, 2021, at 10 a.m. A webinar will be available for those who are unable to attend in person. 


Stay Healthy!

Hope to see you soon.



The Plainview Family History Center
will be closed until further notice.

Also be aware that:
NARA-NYC is closed until further notice.
The NYPL has canceled all public programs
We suggest you check before going to any archive or record repository.


See calendar/directions
Meeting will be held at
Bethpage Public Library
47 Powell Ave., Bethpage, N.Y.

 

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