Irish Family History Forum

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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.

 

May 15, 2021

 

Pam Guye Holland, Researching in Irish Records (webinar) 

Finding genealogy records in Ireland can be confusing. There is no “one-stop” site for all your research needs and different websites offer different records. Follow along as we research an Irish couple and learn all we can about them. Besides well-known records, like census, civil, church, and land, infrequently used resources like place names, local sources, and mapping tools will also be covered.


Followed by : Ask the Experts
Members will have the opportunity to type a concise genealogy query into the Q&A box on Zoom. 
After the lecture is finished, the Ask the Experts team will try to answer the queries.
 
 
 This will be a ZOOM presentation.
 
This presentation (for Members Only) will begin at 11 a.m.
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
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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