Ancestry.com class action overview:
- Who: An Ohio woman is suing Ancestry.com.
- Why: The plaintiff claims her likeness was used in the company’s advertising without her knowledge or consent.
- Where: The class action was filed in an Ohio federal court.
Ancestry.com is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly using the names, photos, and likenesses of private individuals to promote paid subscriptions without their consent.
Plaintiff Diania Nemcik filed the class action complaint against Ancestry.com on Dec. 27 in an Ohio federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
According to the complaint, the genealogy company sourced photos and personal details, including yearbook images, to generate interest in its subscription services.
However, Nemcik claims she has no connection to Ancestry.com and never consented to the use of her identity.
“Ancestry is using the names and photographs of Ohio students and teachers without their consent to advertise paid subscriptions,” Nemcik alleges in the lawsuit.
Ancestry.com misled customers with advertising methods, lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit details three advertising methods used by Ancestry.
First, the site displays low-resolution yearbook photos alongside promotional text, urging visitors to subscribe for access to higher-quality images and additional personal details. Second, Ancestry allegedly sends emails to non-subscribers using class members’ names, prompting recipients to explore records tied to those individuals. Finally, the company offers a two-week free trial, during which users can view detailed personal records, including estimated birth years and graduation dates.
Nemcik alleges that these practices mislead consumers into believing individuals featured in the advertisements are affiliated with Ancestry.com and have consented to having their likeness used.
She claims Ancestry neither disclosed how it obtained the yearbook images nor provided a mechanism for individuals to opt out of having their identities used in promotions.
As a result, Nemcik is looking to represent all Ohio residents who are not Ancestry.com subscribers and whose names and yearbook photographs Ancestry uses to promote website subscriptions.
She is suing for violations of Ohio’s right of publicity statute and common law against misappropriation of name or likeness, and is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
This is not the first class action lawsuit Ancestry.com has faced. In 2023, Ancestry.com was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company uses consumers’ identifying information for commercial purposes without their consent, in violation of the Illinois Right to Publicity Act.
What do you think of the allegations in this Ancestry.com class action? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Michael C. Lueder of Hansen Reynolds LLC; Benjamin R. Osborn of the Law Office of Benjamin Osborn PLLC; Samuel J. Strauss and Brittany Resch of Strauss Borrelli PLLC; and Michael F. Ram and Marie N. Appel of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group
The Ancestry.com class action is Diania Nemcik v. Ancestry.com, Case No. 3:24-cv-00335-WHR-CHG in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
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47 thoughts onAncestry.com class action claims company uses real user info in advertisements
Please add me to the file.
I’ve been an Ancestry.com user since 2014. Upon being lied to about my ancestry being from Africa (Nigeria, Benin, etc), I traveled to Nigeria and was scammed, kidnapped, and extorted! There are features where anyone outside of my American lineage can edit false information to further confuse and lie about my ancestry. I contacted a couple of persons and told them to take information down regarding my Indigenous ancestor born in the 1600’s, being Nigerian, when Nigeria wasn’t a place (country, nation) until the 1960’s! This site is unconstitutional, and it placed me in danger by continuing a lie about my ancestry being from a continent (Africa) full of people who aren’t from my actual American lineage. I have PTSD from my experience while visiting Africa. Still to this day, they have Zoom meetings to urge Black Americans (who are indigenous to America) to go to Africa for some kind of “Heritage travel”, where they write, “Best practices for planning an itinerary.” This is appalling and is dangerous for Americans to subscribe to this trap, as I did. I would like to be added to the classaction for Ancestry.com’s false ancestry practices.