How to Delete Your 23andMe Data as Company Sells DNA Information

23andMe Bankruptcy and Data Sale

• ⚠️ 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and received approval to sell customer data, prompting an alert from California's attorney general.
• 🎯 The company is taking bids for its assets, including sensitive genetic information, which could be sold to the highest bidder.

Risks of Genetic Data Sale

• 🧬 Genetic data is core to one's identity, revealing potential health conditions, ancestry, and family relations.
• 🔒 Unlike financial or social security information, genetic data cannot be changed once compromised, making its loss permanent.
• 🕵️ There's a risk of data being used to identify individuals or family members without consent or for purposes the user did not agree to.

Legal and Privacy Concerns

• ⚖️ Current privacy laws, including state-level regulations, often permit such data sales during mergers, acquisitions, or bankruptcies.
• 🚫 While some laws require buyers to honor original data promises, these protections are not universally applied.
• 📉 Federal laws, like those protecting against genetic discrimination, are narrow and typically only apply to employers and health insurers, leaving other entities like life insurance companies free to use the data for premium decisions.

Protecting Your Genetic Information

• 🖱️ The process to delete data from 23andMe involves logging into your account, navigating to settings, finding '23andMe data,' and selecting 'permanently delete.'
• 📬 A confirmation request will be emailed after initiating the deletion.
• 🏛️ Experts emphasize the importance of protecting all personal information, including finances and browsing history, as data is interconnected and can be used for profiling, advertising, or law enforcement purposes.
• 📜 The ACLU advocates for broader protections to safeguard genetic information and other sensitive data from misuse.