23andMe files for bankruptcy, users advised to delete data by tech expert
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - 23andMe, a company that has collected millions of genetic samples, announced Sunday that it filed for bankruptcy.
This means that the private information of its users will be sold.
Although the company has not yet said to whom it is being sold, 23andMe promises users that their data is protected.
FOX19 NOW spoke with tech expert Dave Hatter, who says the only way to know you are protecting yourself is by deleting your data.
“I don’t think people should freak out over this, but if I were one of their customers, I would be very concerned about it,” Hatter said.
23andMe announced that it had filed for bankruptcy March 23.
The company says it is seeking a partner with the same commitment to customer data privacy. Currently, the company does not plan to change how it stores, manages, or protects customer data.
“I have been against this since day one. I have always thought this is insane,” Hatter said. “People will come back and tell me, ‘Well, Dave, come on. You go to your doctor, you go to the hospital, they run these kinds of tests.’ Yes, but they’re not private companies and they’re subject to HIPAA and other regulations that these private companies aren’t subject to.”
23andMe says it is still open for business and operating as usual, but Hatter advises against that.
“Once you’ve had your test once, you’re not going to do it again, so I think we’ve just hit a place where obviously they’re out of money. They’ve declared bankruptcy. You’ve had the State of California Attorney General strongly suggest to people that they go delete their data,” Hatter explained.
“The consumer should exercise their right, if they wish, to delete, and that’s the first step,” California AG Rob Bonta said.
Hatter says that if the company is sold to a third party, customer data will also be transferred.
“Once it’s out there in the wild, depending on what constraints might go with it, they could sell it to other third parties and literally, your DNA could be all over the place in short order,” Hatter said.
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