Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) has transformed forensic human identification since its public debut in 2018, helping to close hundreds of cases involving violent crimes, unidentified human remains, and wrongful convictions. Yet IGG's power rests on a distinct set of ethical tensions and social conditions and still-nascent policy foundations.

This presentation will synthesize the empirical and normative research on the ethical, legal, and social implications of IGG. It will begin with the foundational ethical questions that accompanied IGG's emergence, with a focus on privacy and consent. It will then turn to empirical research on public attitudes and perspectives.

Survey and focus group data reveal broad public support across a wide range of IGG applications, suggesting that context and purpose shape privacy preferences. However, support is vulnerable to misconceptions about IGG that circulate in public discourse.

The presentation will conclude with consideration of the policy landscape, drawing on findings from a surveillance study of IGG policies and U.S. state data privacy statutes. Together, this body of research points toward a future agenda for the field that includes critical attention to:

• issues of database dependency,
• responsible public communication,
• the development of governance frameworks that will keep pace with IGG's growing reach.