Parent And Child Sues Ancestry.com For Reported Violations Of Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act

A legal guardian is suing Ancestry.com DNA, LLC for allegedly illegally sharing the personal genetic data of their child and thousands of its users to another company after it got acquired in 2020. This move, according to the lawsuit, violates the GIPA law.

A.K. (Kelsi Kingsley) v. Ancestry.com 

Legal Guardian Files Class Action Against Ancestry.com For Alleged Genetic Privacy Violations

Kelsi Kingsley, serving as the main plaintiff in the lawsuit and the legal guardian of a minor referred to as A.K., accuses Ancestry.com of reportedly violating the privacy rights of her child and others. 

The Ancestry GIPA Class Action Lawsuit contends that the company behind Ancestry.com purportedly violated the law when it shared its customers’ genetic information database to private equity company Blackstone, Inc. without seeking the approval of each respective owner. 

A.K. and Kingsley share that they used Ancestry.com’s DNA take-home test kit as a means to find out genetic information about themselves.

Nevertheless, they argue that they were not expecting that the genetic results would be shared with another company by Ancestry when it was bought by a third party. 

More Information About The Kelsi Kingsley v. Ancestry.com DNA, LLC Litigation

Filed in an Illinois court, the Ancestry GIPA Class Action Lawsuit alleges that Ancestry.com violated the provision of the Genetic Information Privacy Act or GIPA enforced in The Prairie State. 

Specifically, the class action points out that the defendant failed to ask for the written consent of the people involved before it went ahead with sharing private genetic data with Blackstone. It adds that Ancestry.com even posted about it on its official website right after its corporate acquisition. 

The complainants are looking to form and represent a Class group consisting of like situated persons and other possible forms of legal relief such as a court-mandated injunction that would force Ancestry.com to follow the legal provisions of the GIPA, payment for damages and the like, and others. 

Consider The Consumer will continue to report on this ongoing case and give you the latest updates here and in our other official communications channels. 

Editor’s Note on Ancestry GIPA Class Action Lawsuit: 

This article shares the key details in the lawsuit launched against the company Ancestry.com in relation to the allegations that it illegally shared sensitive user genetic information with another company without asking for consent. You might also be interested in the Comcast TCPA lawsuit.

Case Name(s) & No.(s): Kelsi Kingsley v. Ancestry.com DNA, LLC; Case No.: 3:21-cv-01368

Jurisdiction: United States (U.S.) District Court for the Southern District of Illinois  

Allegation(s): Ancestry.com customers’ private genetic information has been illegally shared with Blackstone in violation of the law.    

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