The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
23andMe, the genetic information company that allows users to find out their ancestral history and future health risks, has filed for bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer to “maximise the value of its business”.
That means the data of more than 15 million people is up for grabs.
23andMe was valued at $6 billion in 2021 but is now worth $48 million.
In between there was a hack that resulted in the names, addresses and genetic information of a million users of Ashkenazi Jewish descent being offered up on the dark web.
23andMe says there’ll be “no changes” to its consumer protections in bankruptcy court, but the company’s privacy statement reads that in the event of a sale “your personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction”.
The history of GEDmatch, a non-profit genealogy company that was bought by a sequencing firm tied to US law enforcement, should be a cautionary tale.
