Overview

• 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is seeking to sell its assets, including a vast repository of genetic data from 15 million users.
• Privacy experts and state attorneys general, including those from California and Maine, are urging users to delete their data to prevent potential misuse under new ownership.
• The 2023 data breach, which exposed the information of nearly 7 million users, has intensified concerns about the security of genetic data during the bankruptcy process.
• Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and former CEO, resigned to position herself as an independent bidder for the company during the court-supervised sale process.
• The U.S. lacks comprehensive federal privacy laws to safeguard genetic data, leaving users vulnerable compared to stronger protections in the EU and UK.