Like many such websites, Family Tree Now allows you to delve into your ancestry. But one thing makes this site stand out from the others: Anyone can use it to easily uncover some of your most sensitive personal information within seconds.
Launched in 2014, Family Tree Now boasts “one of the largest collections of genealogy records anywhere.” Rather than focusing on a user’s ancestry, however, searches on the site feature a wealth of information on living people, including names, birthdates, complete home address history, and the names of family members and friends. The personal information of relatives and friends are also readily available with a single click.
The information is provided for free and without limitation, and it raises serious privacy concerns, exposing anyone included on the site to potential doxing, harassment, and other forms of victimization. And you’re more than likely included by default, and your information will remain on the site unless you opt out.
It is also completely legal—in fact, it’s protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Source: dailydot.com
Last week, I wrote about companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com—that collect DNA from their customers for health and genealogy tests—getting requests from police and federal agencies hoping to tie a customer (or his or her family member) to a crime. 23andMe, which hired its first privacy officer in February, told me it would be launching a transparency report within a month or two about government requests for information it received. But the report is live now, just a week later.
Source: fusion.net