ETHICS-IN-GENEALOGY-L Archives

Archiver > ETHICS-IN-GENEALOGY > 2003-01 > 1042996164


From: Fridrik Skulason <>
Subject: [Ethics] Right to access - where do I draw the line?
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 17:09:24 +0000


First some background information:

I have a database of genealogical information, with around 700.000 individuals.
Around one-third of the individuals in my database are currently alive.
Information on living individuals is obtained from numerous sources, including
various public records, books, newspapers as well as personal information.

According to the laws of my country, anyone maintaining a database containing
personal information has to provide anyone (upon request) with a copy of the
information on him/her which is stored in the database....the intention being
of course that anyone should have the ability to verify/correct any information
about him/herself.

A genealogy database qualifies as a database containing personal information,
so by law, I have to make the relevant information in the database available to
people...fine, the problem is just where I draw the line.

Entries in a genealogy database do not only involve a single individual - the
very nature of the database means that any information provided will contain
information on other individuals.

What I mean is that information on any individual will not only contain
information on him/herself, but also on parents, spouses and children.

But is that all?

It could be argued that genealogical information about someone includes
information on all known ancestors, so anyone should be able to see the
information I have on their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents
and so on.....

Also, what about other relatives?

Are people entitled to receive the information I might have on their
siblings? Half-siblings? Cousins? 9th cousings, 5 times removed?

Where do I draw the line ?

There is another issue. When does any "personal" information cease to be
sensitive, so that it can be provided to anyone, regardless of whether they
are related or not?

Should I have a time limit, and if so, based on a particular year, a fixed
period after the individual's birth or his/her death?

The current approach is the following:

Place the database on the web. Anyone who is in the database can get a
password, which allows him to access the following information:

1) Information on him/herself, all ancestors and descendants.

2) Information on anyone born before 1700 (the idea being that any sensitive
information from before then is not sensitive any more).

3) Information on "close" relatives - "close" for this purpose being defined
as all descendants of the great-grandparents of the individual in question.

People are not allowed to look up information on more distant realtives,
except they can get a brief report (only containing names), which shows how
they are descended from a common ancestor. Almost all individuals in the
database are related somehow, of course, but I may have to go 7-8 generations
back for a common ancestor.

Any comments/thoughts on my approach?



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