The 23andMe bankruptcy

Have you done a 23andMe thing? Considering doing something similar? Read on.

In my saving-for-the-next Open Tabs feature I've been holding on to a March 6th New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) piece about the then-possible bankruptcy of 23andMe, which has now happened. The ramifications of this may seem shrug-able but in actuality should be concerning to 23andMe users and give pause to anyone considering using similar services.

There are many places to read up on the news of the bankruptcy, but the NEJM piece provides some detail and info that should be absorbed by everyone, because as we lurch and burn through our 21st century technologies at whiz bang speed, the use of YOUR DNA, when you want it used and when you don't, or that you don't realize is being used, is an overlooked element of our lives.

The link to the NEJM piece follows, and I highly recommend it, but let me provide some of the content here:

"If 23andMe goes bankrupt, these data will most likely be sold to the highest bidder, a successor company that customers might not want to entrust with their genetic data.

"...23andMe's privacy statement reserves the right to transfer customers' personal information in the event of a sale of the company or bankruptcy. Customers can't fully protect their data from being "accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction." The company's privacy statement would apply to personal information that is transferred to a new entity after the transaction, but that entity could create new terms of service, including a new privacy statement, and ask customers (who often don't read these long and difficult-to-understand terms) to agree to them."

I highly recommend reading the NEJM piece here (you'll have to register for a free account), and if you or someone you know used 23andMe, go here. Almost every major news and health related site also has info on this.

MWH