California AG Secures $6 Million Settlement with 23andMe; Consumers Keep Right to Delete Genetic Data
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on October 19 that he has secured a $6 million settlement with Chrome Holding Co., formerly known as 23andMe. The settlement, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and pending court approval, resolves allegations that the company failed to protect its customers' personal information and genetic data, resulting in a 2023 data breach. It also resolves Bonta's appeal from the denial of his objection, under California law, to the sale of Californians' genetic information and samples in the bankruptcy without their affirmative consent. Affected consumers retain the right to request deletion of their information and destruction of their samples.
"23andMe collected genetic data about millions of people and failed to meet its obligation to keep that information safe. Companies cannot evade California's consumer protection and privacy laws by filing for bankruptcy," Bonta said. "I want to remind Californians that customers of 23andMe can delete their private, genetic data — no matter who owns it."
Founded in San Francisco, 23andMe was the first and one of the largest direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies in the world. Customers mailed in saliva samples for DNA analysis, and the company stored raw DNA sequence data to provide ancestry, ethnicity and genetic health reports. The 2023 breach exposed the data of about 6.9 million customers worldwide.
The Attorney General's Office also outlined Californians' deletion rights under the state's Genetic Information Privacy Act. To delete genetic data from 23andMe, consumers log into their account, go to Settings, scroll to the "23andMe Data" section, click "View," optionally download a copy of their data, then scroll to "Delete Data," click "Permanently Delete Data," and confirm via the link in the company's email. Consumers who previously opted to store a saliva sample can change that preference under "Preferences" in account settings, and research consent can be revoked under "Research and Product Consents."
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: DNA双螺旋结构示意图（资料图）。公共领域图片，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。
