Article 23andMe’s meltdown was inevitable—and deserved (enabler of DIY genetic testing)

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https://gizmodo.com/23andmes-meltdown-wa...2000580301

INTRO: The DNA testing company 23andMe is circling the drain, and it’s about damn time.

Earlier this week, 23andMe officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just as its CEO Anne Wojcicki stepped down from the position—the latest humiliations for a formerly thriving company once valued at $6 billion. Though it’s still possible that some version will outlast this financial turmoil, its days as a genetic testing juggernaut appear to be firmly over.

Frankly, given the many mistakes and misleading promises 23andMe and similar companies have made throughout the years, it’s a well-deserved fate.

Much attention has rightly been paid to the company’s abysmal handling of its customers’ data. Starting in April 2023, hackers gained access to the personal information of nearly 7 million customers, more than half of the company’s customers (the initial breach affected 14,000 accounts, which the hackers then used to access information from many others). Though the hackers weren’t directly privy to people’s DNA records, they were able to obtain names, birth years, and family tree information.

It took five months for the company to even notice the hack, and two months before it publicly admitted to the total scale of the breach. Along the way, the company attempted to lay the blame at its customers’ feet, scolding them for recycling passwords. To be clear, you should never reuse passwords—but the companies we trust with our data also have a responsibility to keep it secure... (MORE - details)

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Why I'm not deleting my 23andMe genetic data
https://reason.com/2025/03/26/why-im-not...etic-data/

INTRO: Various corners of the media and internet are hyperventilating over the alleged genetic privacy implications of the imminent Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe.

"Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now," yelps a headline over at The Washington Post. Why? "Unless you take action, there is a risk your genetic information could end up in someone else's hands—and used in ways you had never considered," ominously warns Post journalist Geoffrey Fowler.

NPR reports that Suzanne Bernstein, counsel at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center, advises that any concerned 23andMe customers should delete their data, request that their saliva sample be destroyed, and revoke any permissions they may have given to use their genetic information for research. "This is just the first example of a company like this with tremendous amounts of sensitive data being bought or sold," she added.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta urgently issued a consumer alert reminding "Californians of their right to direct the deletion of their genetic data under the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)."

Calm down people. Genetic data are not especially toxic or extraordinarily dangerous. Nor are the privacy implications all that dire, especially compared to other widely available and easily deployed surveillance tools... (MORE - details)