Genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is looking for bidders to buy the company.
The move by 23andMe has placed the DNA of millions of users up for sale.
23andMe was founded in 2006 and has aimed to provide genetic information to help understand users potential diseases and to connect with relatives.
Tazin Khan, CEO of the nonprofit Cyber Collective, stated, “Folks have absolutely no say in where their data is going to go.”
So uh, 15 million DNA samples are now just available to the highest bidder? pic.twitter.com/Yp6aU0CrQ0
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) March 24, 2025
Check out what NBC News reported:
With genetic testing company 23andMe filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and courting bidders, the DNA data of millions of users is up for sale.
A Silicon Valley stalwart since 2006, 23andMe has steadily amassed a database of people’s fundamental genetic information under the promise of helping them understand their disposition to diseases and potentially connecting with relatives.
But the company’s bankruptcy filing Sunday means information is set to be sold, causing massive worry among privacy experts and advocates.
“Folks have absolutely no say in where their data is going to go,” said Tazin Khan, CEO of the nonprofit Cyber Collective, which advocates for privacy rights and cybersecurity for marginalized people.
“How can we be so sure that the downstream impact of whoever purchases this data will not be catastrophic?” she said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned people in a statement Friday that their data could be sold. In the statement, Bonta offered users instructions on how to delete genetic data from 23andMe, how to instruct the company to delete their test samples and how to revoke access from their data’s being used in third-party research studies.
🚨UPDATE: Users trying to delete their 23andMe DNA data are facing website issues.
Others who think they deleted it get a confirmation email — but buried inside is a link they still have to click to "complete" deletion.
Looks like they really don't want us to delete the data.🤔 https://t.co/iTurCgBc42 pic.twitter.com/xqYS1wtfsW
— James Li (@5149jamesli) March 24, 2025
DNA testing firm 23andMe users are at risk after the company went bankrupt. If DNA data fell in the wrong hands, then ‘that is a big step toward becoming you in the eyes of someone else,’ said data protection expert Adam Levin https://t.co/Zrq747QCzp pic.twitter.com/2LiiPqNoH4
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2025
Per Reuters:
23andMe (ME.O), opens new tab on Sunday filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after struggling with weak demand for its ancestry testing kits and a 2023 data breach that damaged its reputation.
The company’s shares fell 50% to 88 cents in Monday trading after co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who made multiple failed takeover bids, resigned as CEO. 23andMe did not say whether there are other interested bidders. It will continue to operate during the sale process, having secured $35 million in financing over the weekend.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.