I
recently received a notice from MyHeritage about photos of people who matched
names in my own family tree.
I was surprised and shocked to see pictures of my children and
grandchildren there! Along with vital information about them.
We have informed the member that no permission was given to use
the photos on MyHeritage, or elsewhere – by any family member. We were
especially concerned with them being related to living persons, especially
children.
I fail to understand how information about our children is
relevant to the study of ancestors. Yes, they are the latest in any line but
who they are, when they were born, where they live or what they do has nothing
to do with their great-great-grandparents. It is the latter who, as
genealogists and family historians, we seek to find information about. Invading
the privacy of minors – and that is what is happening here – does not advance
the study of our forebears.
I believe people need to take extra care when publishing
information of any kind about living people but should never, in my opinion,
put up photos of children, without the parents' express written approval.
I do agree that the photo library of MyHeritage could be of value
in the search for information about our dead relatives. In my case, I already
have copies of the photos that were shown in the notice sent to me. Some
actually looked like they were copied from my files although I do not think
that was the case. They may have been shared by others to whom I sent copies,
though. It has happened before and is impossible to control.
It is not necessary to import the bad behaviour shown in much of
social media to genealogical pursuits. Surely we can respect the privacy of
living people – AGAIN, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN – as we study and share information
about our ancestors.
I have made my views known to MyHeritage. We will see what steps
they take to preserve privacy. I have also complained to the individual who put
up the photos on her family tree site. We expect her to remove them, along
with the vital information and, in the future, seek permission before she uses
such material.
By the way, on my own MyHeritage family tree I have clicked the
box that says guests can view limited information but “can never view
information about living people” in my family website. Only those that are
invited to join the tree may do so. I also do not allow site members to invite
other members to the site. I am hopeful that is enough to protect the privacy
of people I have named in my family tree.
Wayne
Shepheard is a retired geologist and active genealogist. He volunteers with the
Online Parish
Clerk
program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of
articles about various aspects of genealogy in several family history society
journals. Wayne has also served as an editor of two such publications. He
provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated
