Genealogy information provider Ancestry.com has a “longstanding practice” of failing to get sufficient informed consent agreements from customers who submit medical and DNA information, a new lawsuit alleges.
Lori Collett sued the Utah-based company’s subsidiaries—Ancestry.com DNA LLC and Ancestry.com Inc.—for allegedly “misleading and deceiving patients in California and across the country about what Ancestry was actually doing with their DNA.” Ancestry.com DNA offers direct-to-consumer genetic testing, and Ancestry.com provides genealogy research services.
The lawsuit comes amid lawmakers’ and consumers’ growing concerns about how geneaology and genetic testing companies use, store, and share sensitive personal information.
“The case is wholly without ...