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Genetic testing company 23AndMe has discovered success in generating ancestor reports for clients interested in the genetic history of their families. But now that he has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, experts warn that removing data from the service may be the greatest benefit of previous users.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta urged his previous clients to “take control and require the company to delete genetic data.”
Cybersecurity expert Cindi Carter, global chief information security officer with checkpoint software, has agreed to Bonta’s warning.
“I think that’s a wise recommendation [to delete data]”Carter said in the news on Saturday’s KTLA 5 weekend morning. “Companies always buy and sell data, but genetic data is a new realm.”
23andme Ancestry + Traits Service DNA Kit (Getty Images)
Why delete it? Because no one knows what will happen with the data at this point.
The South San Francisco-based company says the filing will not affect how customer data is stored, managed and protected. However, potential buyers can have free reins for millions of genetic data, and there is no guardrail as to what they can do with it.
Carter doesn’t know what buyers can do with the data, as companies with varying degrees of care have different policies when it comes to customer privacy.
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Users can start the deletion process via the 23andMe app, but as Carter says, they can also download the data themselves before deleting it from the company’s database.
“There’s a lot of speculation around bankruptcy sales right now. We really don’t know what’s going to happen with the data,” Carter added.
As of Saturday, there is no word on the potential sale of 23andMe or its customer data.
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