CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – A class action lawsuit alleges Ancestry.com is using photos of people without their permission.
Clifford Law Offices and Morgan & Morgan, representing Sergio Bonilla, filed their case Dec. 14 in Chicago federal court, taking aim at Ancestry’s use of school yearbooks from the 20th century.
“Ancestry has not received consent from, given notice to, or provided compensation to the millions of Illinoisans whose names, photographs, biographical information and identities appear in its Ancestry Yearbook Database,” the lawsuit says.
This collection of yearbooks is a selling point when Ancestry offers its membership services, the lawsuit says.
“The sole purpose of offering the promotional limited-access version of the website is to induce users to subscribe to its paid product and service,” the suit says.
“By providing access to and encouraging use of its Ancestry Yearbook Database as part of its promotional limited-access website for non-subscribers, Ancestry is using the identities of Plaintiff and the class to advertise and promote its subscription products and services.”