With 23andMe’s bankruptcy, questions emerge about the the private genetic data of its 6.9 million customers

23andMe has faced financial hardship for years, struggling to overcome the fact that many people who went to the website for a one-time DNA test didn’t become repeat customers. In November, the company laid off more than 200 employees, or roughly 40% of its staff.

The bankruptcy announcement also comes less than two years after 23andMe suffered a massive data breach affecting 6.9 million customer accounts.

In its bankruptcy announcement, 23andMe said the data privacy of its customers would be an “important consideration” in any sale. But federal law does little to secure genetic information given over to a private company, two legal experts on data privacy said.

…

[Suzanne] Bernstein of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said any concerned 23andMe customers should delete their data, request that their saliva sample be destroyed and revoke any permissions they may have given to use their genetic information for research.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here