Sri Lankan Historic Records on Family Search - To the Rights Management Team at Family Search.

George26360

To the Rights Management Team at Family Search.

I am writing to address a concern circulating in the Family Search Community regarding removal of all historical data from Family Search.

My understanding is that due to Sri Lanka's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), No. 9 of 2022, all Sri Lankan civil registration, Dutch Reformed Church, and other colonial-era records have been withdrawn from FamilySearch since approximately October 2025.

Sri Lanka's PDPA Does Not Require Deletion of Historical Genealogical Records

I respectfully submit that while the PDPA may have prompted a cautious review of data-sharing agreements, the Act itself does not require the blanket removal of historical records — many of which document individuals deceased for decades, centuries, or longer. Sri Lanka's civil registration collection reaches back to 1768 and the Dutch Reformed Church records reach back to 1677.

These are, by their nature, historical and archival records, not live personal data flows. The PDPA was designed to protect the privacy of living individuals, and Parliament explicitly built in provisions that accommodate exactly this type of historical and genealogical research.

The PDPA's Own Provisions Protect Historical Research

The Act contains clear and unambiguous exemptions. Quoting directly from the official text (Parliament of Sri Lanka, March 2022) [see parliament]​

• Section 6(2) – Purpose Limitation: "Further processing of such personal data by a controller for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research, historical research or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes." This means accessing old civil or church records for genealogical research is expressly permitted even if the original purpose of collection was something else.
• Section 9 (Proviso) – Retention Limits: "A controller may store personal data for longer periods in so far as the personal data shall be processed further for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research, historical research or statistical purposes." There is no mandatory deletion obligation for historically archived records.
• Schedule I, item (h) – Lawful Processing: Processing is lawful when "necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research or historical research purposes or statistical purposes." FamilySearch's preservation and display of centuries-old civil and church records fits squarely within this ground.
• Schedule II (Special Categories) – Even sensitive personal data may be processed "for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, historical research or statistical purposes in accordance with law," subject to proportionate safeguards.
• Section 17(1)(d) – Rights of Data Subjects: An heir may exercise rights over a deceased data subject's records only "within a period of ten years from the date of demise." This makes clear that Parliament did not intend for data protection rights to extend indefinitely to records of persons long deceased — and that such records fall outside active data subject rights after that window. [ see parliament]​

The Restriction Appears to Go Beyond What the PDPA Requires

These provisions collectively show that Parliament intended historical, archival, and genealogical use to be a lawful basis for processing and retaining personal data — not a prohibited one.

The Sri Lanka Data Protection Authority (DPA), established in 2023 and fully operational by March 2025, has not, to public knowledge, issued any directive requiring the wholesale removal of historical genealogical records from public platforms.

The current restriction on Sri Lankan records at FamilySearch appears to reflect an overly cautious interpretation of the PDPA.

I hope this helps clarify that Sri Lanka's PDPA, read as a whole, accommodates historical research and archiving and that Family Search considers restoring access to these historic records.

George26360

@SerraNola - Please share the above note with your Rights Management Team. Thank you.

SerraNola

@George26360

FamilySearch Rights Management team is only responsible for “implementing” policy set by the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), which also provides final legal review. Contract and Compliance interprets these policies and applies them to contracts, making decisions on access and restrictions.

I have advocated for Sri Lanka since these changes began, and Rights Management engineers have been supportive. However, C & C responded that they must enforce OGC's legal guidance. It appears--as you suggested, that they've interpreted the PDPA conservatively and chosen to exceed its requirements.

Thank you for taking the time to thoughtfully present the facts and I will relay your message with the hope that it helps. I remain optimistic that the situation will improve, since FamilySearch works to provide records freely worldwide.

George26360

Thank you very much @SerraNola. I look forward to hearing from you.

George26360

Hello @SerraNola - any updates on this from your team? Thank you.

SerraNola

@George26360 Nothing yet. I will bring it up again at next meeting with Rights Management. I may need to create a work item.