DNA data of 15 million Americans up for sale? 23andMe bankruptcy row explained
Biotech giant 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday
Biotech giant 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday sparking DNA data breach concerns. The company's shares fell to as much as 50% on Monday after founder Anne Wojcicki resigned as CEO. As of now, 23andMe has not confirmed if it is looking to sell to interested bidders.
Jason Koebler-led 404 Media viewed 23andMe's court documents and reported that the biotechnology company is looking to protect itself from the potential damage of dozens of legal cases about past data leaks. Hackers had obtained personal data of about seven million customers in October 2023. According to the 404 Media report, it included ‘health-related information based upon the user’s genetics’.
Read More: 23andMe goes bankrupt: What happens to your stored DNA data now?
The company, in the documents, also stated that it has faced ‘over 50 class action and state court lawsuits' and ’approximately 35,000 claimants have initiated, filed, or threatened to commence arbitration claims'.
Data of 15 million Americans
23andMe has collected DNA from saliva samples from more than 15 million customers, Bloomberg reported. As per the report, the ‘personal information can now be sold as part of a court-supervised auction’.
The Wojcicki-led organization filed for Chapter 11, which refers to bankruptcy. 404 Media adds that it owes money to pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, artificial intelligence companies, health insurance companies, and marketing companies.
As concerns about the data auction surfaced, 23andMe issued an open letter to customers. “Your data remains protected. The Chapter 11 filing does not change how we store, manage, or protect customer data. Our users’ privacy and data are important considerations in any transaction, and we remain committed to our users’ privacy and to being transparent with our customers about how their data is managed.”
Read More: 23andMe files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after CEO Anne Wojcicki's resignation
However, it stated that buyers will have to ‘comply with applicable law with respect to the treatment of customer data’.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act in the US bars employers and health insurance companies from discriminating against people due to genetic information.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta last week advised customers to delete their genetic data due to 23andMe’s financial troubles.
"Once that data is out there, then, even if you requested your account to be deleted, they can't find your information because it no longer has your name attached. So for most people that might be fine as long as their names (are) not attached."
