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Forever, Ever

Amid criticism of its terms of service, Ancestry.com says that it doesn't take ownership of its customers' DNA, BBC News reports.

The BBC notes that a New York-based attorney spotted a clause in the genealogy firm's terms of service in which users give the company a perpetual license to their DNA. In a post at Think Progress, Joel Winston, the attorney, warns customers to read the full agreement. He says that, as written, the terms give the company the right to use customers' DNA for research and commercial purposes and a royalty-free license for all time.

"Customers must understand that turning over their DNA means a loss of complete ownership and control," Winston writes in his post. "Ancestry.com customers should also know they're giving up the genetic privacy of themselves and their relatives."

Ancestry.com tells the BBC that it is changing its terms of service. The firm further says that it "never takes ownership of a customer's data" and would "remove the perpetuity clause." It adds that it only shares de-identified user data for research if the user has opted in to that program.