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deoxyribonucleic acid and inherited testing firm 23andMe is in turmoil following a 2023 data breach and its on-going financial fall . The once - pioneering behemoth now confront an uncertain futureas bankruptcy looms over the company , step up concerns about what might befall to the genetic data of 23andMe ’s some 15 million client .
Best have a go at it for its saliva - ground test kits that offer a glimpse into a person ’s inherited ancestry , 23andMe has see its value plummet more than 99 % from its $ 6 billion peak since pop off public in early 2021 after failing to twist a net income .
That want of net income was attributed to wane consumer interest group in 23andMe ’s use - once mental testing kits and lackluster growth of its subscription overhaul . The company was also floored by ahuge month - long data breachthat see hack steal the ancestry datum of almost 7 million exploiter throughout 2023 . The companyagreed in Septemberto pay $ 30 million to settle a suit related to the breach .
Less than a week subsequently , 23andMe founding father and CEO Anne Wojcicki said she was “ regard third - party takeover proposals ” for the company . Wojcicki quickly walk back the financial statement , rather saying sheplanned to take the troupe private . But the damage was done , and all of the company ’s independent add-in members leave office with quick effect .
After filing for bankruptcy protection in March 2024 , the company ’s assets — include huge banks of desoxyribonucleic acid data point — will be sold through a court - supervised sales event . Wojcicki also quit from the caller .
Where does that go out billion of mass ’s genetic data ?
23andMe bound largely by its own rules
As evidenced by its 2023 datum breach , which saw hackers steal information such as users ’ genetic sensitivity and lineage theme , 23andMe collect a ton of information on its users .
If you ’re one of the many millions that have ship your saliva to 23andMe to check about your ancestry , you may have usurp that this data point will continue individual under legal philosophy , such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act . HIPAA , as it ’s known , sets the standards for protecting sensitive health information from being disclosed without a someone ’s knowledge or consent .
However , 23andMe is not a company covered under HIPAA . As such , 23andMe is largely bound only by its own privacy policies , which it can convert at any time .
Andy Kill , a spokesperson for 23andMe , evidence TechCrunch that the company believes this is a “ more appropriate and vapourous model for the data point we cover , rather than the HIPAA model hire by the traditional healthcare diligence . ”
A lack of Union rule and a littered mess of state privacy law ultimately mean that if 23andMe faces a sale , the data of millions of Americans is also on the table . The company ’s privacy insurance policy says that its client ’ personal info “ may be accessed , sold or transfer ” as part of a bankruptcy , uniting , acquisition , shake-up , or sale .
The fact that client datum is a saleable asset has also been made clear by Wojcicki , whoreportedly told investorsthat 23andMe will no longer pursue its cost - intensive drug development programs and will rather center on marketing its vast database of customer data to pharmaceutical company and research worker .
23andMe maintains that its information privacy policies would not change in the result of a sales agreement . These policies state that the company will never deal exploiter ’ selective information with insurance companies , or with law enforcement without a warrant . The latter have increasingly turned to third - company desoxyribonucleic acid companies for genetic info , but 23andMe has so far refuse all U.S. practice of law enforcement requests for such information , accordingto its long - running foil report .
Potential buyers of 23andMe may have entirely dissimilar mind about how to use the caller ’s potentially worthful trove of DNA data . Privacy advocates at the digital rights radical Electronic Frontier Foundation havealready urged 23andMe to reject a saleto any company with ties to law enforcement , warning that customers ’ genetics datum could be used by police force to indiscriminately research for evidence of law-breaking .
“ Our own commitment to practice the term of our privacy insurance to the personal information of our customer in the result of a cut-rate sale or transfer of training is unclouded : the 23andMe Terms of Service and Privacy Statement would remain in place unless and until customers are presented with , and agree to , newfangled terms and financial statement — and only after receiving appropriate notice of any unexampled terminus , under applicable data point protection natural law , ” Kill told TechCrunch .
Proactively deleting your account
As 23andMe faces bankruptcy , there are calls for 23andMe customers to take legal action now to protect their data from being sold .
California ’s attorney general Rob Bonta say in a statement after 23andMe filed for bankruptcy that state residents have a right todemand the omission of their genic dataunder state police force .
Meredith Whittaker , the chairman of end - to - oddment cypher messaging app Signal , tell ina post on X : “ It ’s not just you . If anyone in your family yield their deoxyribonucleic acid to [ 23andMe ] , for all of your sakes , close your / their story now . ”
Eva Galperin , the director of cybersecurity at the EFF , also warned users to take action . “ If you have a 23andMe accounting , today is a good twenty-four hour period to login and request the deletion of your data , ” state Galperin in apost on X.
Requesting the deletion of your data on 23andMe is relatively easy .
lumber in to your 23andMe write up and voyage toSettings > Account Information > Delete Your Account . 23andMe will inspire you to confirm your determination , warning that deleting your story is lasting and irreversible .
There is an important caveat . As noted in 23andMe ’s privacy policy , account cut is “ subject to retention requirements and sure exception , ” which imply the fellowship may reserve on to some of your data for an unspecified amount of time .
For good example , 23andMe will retain your genetic information , date of birth , and gender “ as required for obligingness ” and will retain modified data relate to your excision request , “ include but not limited to , your email address , describe cut request identifier , communication refer to inquiry or complaint and legal agreements . ”
likewise , if you ’ve already agree to 23andMe sharing your data for inquiry purpose , you may repeal that consent , but there ’s no way for you to blue-pencil that information . Kill tells TechCrunch that around 80 % of 23andMe customers — roughly 12 million mass — consent to participate in its enquiry program .
First print on October 19 , 2024 and update since .
