EU Digital Services Act
February 2024 - February 2025 EU Digital Services Act
February 2024 - February 2025
Ancestry Transparency Reports Digital Services ActDSA
Ancestry’s platforms facilitate the uploading, sharing, and storage of customer content. Additionally, customers can message each other within the platforms.
Ancestry’s Terms and Conditions incorporate Community Rules to govern the type of content and activity permitted across Ancestry’s platforms. When content or activity is inconsistent with these Community Rules, or found to be illegal, it will be removed. In some instances, where required by applicable law, or where the content may appear to pose a threat to life, Ancestry will report the content and information about the individual who uploaded it to requisite authorities or public safety officials.
The following report reflects Ancestry’s application of the Digital Services Act to these EU-based customers.
Articles 15(a) and (b) Orders and Notices Concerning Illegal Content
Pursuant to Article 15 of the DSA, Ancestry provides the following data:
| Article | Description | Number |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Orders received from EU Member States’ Authorities | 0 |
| (b) | Notifications from any EU individual or entity (excluding Trusted Flaggers) concerning illegal content | 0 |
| Notifications from EU Trusted Flaggers concerning illegal content | 0 |
As Ancestry did not receive any notices concerning illegal activity from any EU individual, entity or Trusted flagger, then there was no action for Ancestry to take or report.
Article 15(c) Content Moderation
Ancestry deploys some standard industry detection capabilities to proactively identify illegal Child Sexual Abuse Material. To date, Ancestry has not detected such material on the Ancestry platform.
Our customer service team is trained to address reports from individuals and entities concerning potentially illegal content as well as content or activity that violates Ancestry’s Community Rules. The team is composed of experienced Ancestry employees who are dedicated to customer service and trained in content moderation. They are guided by operational policies and procedures to facilitate consistent and objective application of Ancestry’s Community Rules. Issues concerning illegal content or activity are escalated by our customer service team to specialists within our Legal Team.
| Description | Content Addressed |
|---|---|
| Illegal Child Sexual Abuse Material proactively detected with standard, industry capabilities | 0 |
| Illegal content addressed by customer service team that violated Ancestry’s Community Rules | 0 |
| Content violating Ancestry’s Community Rules removed by services team after receiving a complaint | 34 |
Article 15(d) Complaints
Ancestry provides a reporting mechanism for individuals and entities to complain about content they may see on Ancestry platforms. In 2024, Ancestry received a total of 34 complaints from individuals believed to be located in the European Union.
| Description | Reported | Content Action | # | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Threat reported to authorities | 1 | Removed | 1 | 0 |
| Privacy violations (e.g. mention of a live person’s name on someone’s family tree) | 14 | Removed | 14 | 0 |
| Harmful Speech | 1 | Removed | 1 | 0 |
| Fraud / Scam | 2 | Removed | 2 | 0 |
| Spam and Messaging Abuse | 11 | Removed / Suspended |
11 | 0 |
| False Information | 2 | Removed | 2 | 0 |
| Copyright | 1 | Removed | 1 | 0 |
| Other (Community Rules violation) | 2 | Removed | 2 | 0 |
The average handling time for these complaints is 24-48 hours, or less depending upon the severity of the complaint.
Ancestry did not reverse any decisions to remove the content that was complained about, nor did any customer appeal the content removal.
Ten (10) accounts were terminated or suspended for sending spam / abusive messages.
Article 15(e) Automated Content Moderation
Ancestry does not use any automated content moderation technologies.