Genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking a significant downturn for the firm, which saw CEO Anne Wojcicki resign alongside a board overhaul. Challenges such as a data breach, a class action lawsuit, and leadership disagreements have severely impacted the company's operations and stock price. Concerns linger about user data ownership as the company explores sale options. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's cybersecurity director has advised users to delete their data, reflecting widespread anxiety about personal information security amidst these developments.
"Data is data - once it's out there, it's very hard to control," James Hazel, a biomedical researcher, told Business Insider in 2019.
Many have expressed concern a takeover or sale of the company could mean the sale of user data. The director of cybersecurity at Electronic Frontier Foundation urged their followers to delete their data from 23andMe.
Yet "beyond our contracted laboratory, with which we work to process a customer's sample and deliver their results, customer information will not be shared with any other entity unless they provide us with consent to do so," a 23andMe spokesperson previously told Business Insider.
23andMe says the personal data it collects includes registration information like birth date, genetic information like a user's genotype, sample information like saliva, and self-reported information.
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