{"id":75630,"date":"2019-02-01T13:10:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T19:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/?p=75630"},"modified":"2023-06-01T09:43:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T14:43:14","slug":"press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/es\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: Helping Connect The Dots"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”214131″]HOUSTON TX<\/strong> \u2014 In 2000, when Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder of Gene-by-Gene Ltd. and FamilyTreeDNA, launched FamilyTreeDNA as the first direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, he never imagined that it would lead to the creation of a booming industry.<\/p>\n

An avid genealogist, Greenspan created FamilyTreeDNA to help other family researchers solve problems and break down walls to connect the dots of their family trees. Without realizing it, he had inadvertently created a platform that, nearly two decades later, would help law enforcement agencies solve violent crimes faster than ever.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”75643″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”194035″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”105649″]Gene-by-Gene, Ltd.<\/a>, which is privately owned by Greenspan and his business partner Max Blankfeld and is a CAP and CLIA accredited laboratory that performs all of the consumer DNA testing for their company FamilyTreeDNA as well as several other commercial clients, is working with the FBI to test DNA samples provided by law enforcement<\/a> in order to help identify perpetrators of violent crimes and to identify the remains of deceased individuals.<\/p>\n

After receiving inquiries from the FBI, Greenspan found himself asking whether, as a trusted guardian of consumer DNA data and consumer privacy according to U.S. News and World Reports, FamilyTreeDNA in good conscience and without violating consumers\u2019 trust could help the FBI identify the remains of deceased persons or perpetrators of violent crimes (as defined in 18 U.S. Code \u00a7 (924) (e) (2) (B)<\/a>), saving lives and preventing others from becoming victims?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came to the conclusion,\u201d says Greenspan, \u201cthat if law enforcement created accounts, with the same level of access to the database as the standard FamilyTreeDNA user, they would not be violating user privacy and confidentiality. In order for the FBI to obtain any additional information, they would have to provide a valid court-order such as a subpoena or search warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with law enforcement to process DNA samples from the scene of a violent crime or identifying an unknown victim does not change our policy never to sell or barter our customers\u2019 private information with a third party. Our policy remains fully intact and in force.\u201d<\/p>\n

As specified in FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s Terms of Service \u2013 law enforcement can only receive information not already accessible to the standard user by providing FamilyTreeDNA with valid legal process, such as a subpoena or a search warrant.<\/p>\n

In order to, at their request, assist law enforcement, the Gene-by-Gene laboratory will generate SNP data profiles from samples submitted by law enforcement, which can then be uploaded to all public DNA databases, one of which belongs to FamilyTreeDNA, by law enforcement officials in their effort to build the suspect\u2019s or deceased individual\u2019s family tree. In the case of FamilyTreeDNA, without a valid court order, law enforcement will only be able to see information that is available to the standard FamilyTreeDNA user.<\/p>\n

Additionally, as part of FamilyTreeDNA\u2019s continued commitment to ensuring their customers\u2019 privacy, customers have the ability to opt out of the matching<\/a> feature in their account settings. By opting out of matching, a user cannot see their DNA matches nor can they be seen as a match by anyone else, including law enforcement.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=”75646″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”211971″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”143908″]According to Greenspan, \u201cIf we can help prevent violent crimes and save lives or bring closure to families, then we\u2019re going to do that. We\u2019re going to do it within a framework that continues to ensure that the privacy of our customers, which has been paramount to us since day one and remains so today, is protected to the greatest degree possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

About FamilyTreeDNA and Gene-By-Gene<\/h2>\n

Founded in 2000, FamilyTreeDNA is the pioneer of the genetic genealogy and direct-to-consumer DNA testing industry and the top choice for consumer privacy, according to U.S. News and World Reports. FamilyTreeDNA is a privately held company located in Houston, Texas. www.familytreedna.com. Gene-by-Gene is a CAP and CLIA accredited laboratory located in Houston, Texas which processes genetic tests for commercial customers, along with consumer DNA tests for its FamilyTreeDNA division.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2000, when Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder of Gene-by-Gene Ltd. and FamilyTreeDNA, launched FamilyTreeDNA as the first direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, he never imagined that it would lead to the creation of a booming industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":78534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[1243],"yoast_head":"\nPress Release: Helping Connect The Dots - FamilyTreeDNA Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Bennett Greenspan launched FamilyTreeDNA as the first direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, he never imagined what it would lead to.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Press Release: Helping Connect The Dots\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2000, when Bennett Greenspan, President and Founder of Gene-by-Gene Ltd. and FamilyTreeDNA, launched FamilyTreeDNA as the first direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, he never imagined that it would lead to the creation of a booming industry.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FamilyTreeDNA\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-01T19:10:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-01T14:43:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Press-Release-Helping-Connect-the-Dots-FamilyTreeDNA-Blog.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"FamilyTreeDNA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0825ec70320c525114ecbc0cbc60551c\"},\"headline\":\"Press Release: Helping Connect The Dots\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-01T19:10:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-01T14:43:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\"},\"wordCount\":709,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Press Release\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Press Releases\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/press-release-connecting-families-and-saving-lives\/\",\"name\":\"Press Release: Helping Connect The Dots - 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