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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Your Genetic Data and Why Family Tree DNA Will Never Sell Your Data


A lot of negative, and often misleading, publicity concerning home DNA testing has been floating around the news services this week. In an effort to clear the air, Family Tree DNA has issued the following statement:

HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), a division of Gene-by-Gene Ltd, the first to market with a consumer oriented genealogical DNA testing kit and the only genealogical DNA testing company with its own state-of-the-art genetics laboratory, is telling consumers they will never sell their genetic data in a consumer awareness campaign entitled “Can the Other Guys Say That?”

“We feel the only person that should have your DNA is you,” says Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder of Family Tree DNA. “We don’t believe it should be sold, traded, or bartered.”

According to Greenspan, “the value of DNA testing is that the DNA test can tell you things about yourself that you cannot determine by looking in the mirror. It allows you to interrogate the history book written in your cells.”

The media campaign comes at the start of what is traditionally the biggest selling season of the year for genealogically focused DNA testing companies, reminding consumers who flock to genealogical sites to purchase their holiday gifts that, “Finding your roots is fun, but not all DNA test companies are created equal.”

Other DNA testing companies are, in fact, selling consumers’ genetic data to pharmaceutical companies for a profit. While these companies claim to remove personally identifying information prior to selling the data, the question, says Greenspan, is whether consumers feel the sale of their genetic data is “part of the deal [they] really thought [they] were signing up for when [they] ordered a simple DNA test for genealogical purposes.”

The “Can the Other Guys Say That?” campaign launched on Thanksgiving Day and encourages consumers to “Make the Smart Choice this Holiday Season.”