It appears that they have done this both in violation of their Terms of Service and their Privacy Statement, as they failed to notify customers of the change in policy when they began working with the FBI. These terms previously stated two things: (1) no use by law enforcement and (2) we will notify you of major changes in advance, providing the opportunity to opt out. They changed the agreement well after the FBI began using their database (with their consent and facilitation and profit motive) and it may have only been changed with the publication of the BuzzFeed News story.
> Changes to Privacy Statement: We may choose to modify this Privacy Statement at any time. We will provide advance notice of any material changes to this Statement, such as sending you an email or posting a notice to allow you the opportunity to survey the changes and decide whether to continue using our Services.
I'm curious whether this is also in violation of the GDPR. Most genealogy and DNA related companies, including Family Tree DNA, undertook huge changes to comply with the GDPR back in early 2018, so it would be strange to have them suddenly placed themselves in non-compliance.
1 comment
[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 8.0 ms ] thread> Changes to Privacy Statement: We may choose to modify this Privacy Statement at any time. We will provide advance notice of any material changes to this Statement, such as sending you an email or posting a notice to allow you the opportunity to survey the changes and decide whether to continue using our Services.
I'm curious whether this is also in violation of the GDPR. Most genealogy and DNA related companies, including Family Tree DNA, undertook huge changes to comply with the GDPR back in early 2018, so it would be strange to have them suddenly placed themselves in non-compliance.