Pioneer 23Andme DNA testing presented bankruptcy – causing new concerns for storing personal data of more than 15 million company clients.
Former Sylicon Valley Darling sought the protection of Chapter 11 Sunday after fighting with a poor demand for his descent test boxes that once appeared on the annual list of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things, and after a 2023 data violation that damaged its reputation.
The company said it will continue to operate during the sale process, after securing $ 35 million in financing during the week.
However, consumer lawyers and intimacy experts have raised significant concerns about the future of genetic data held by companies such as 23, bankruptcy WOW can lead to the sale or transfer of its wide database.
I. Glenn Cohen of the Harvard Law School emphasized these concerns, stressing that the genetic information of users can end up “in someone other than 23, in a way that many people who have given their information 23 -ages never thought and can oppose.”
“It can be a time to get inside and delete that information on your account, though it’s not a perfect solution,” he said.
He further expressed hope for better regulatory solutions.
“I would like to see a space where people can get the information they want without feeling like that information could endanger them,” Cohen said.
California Prosecutor General Rob Bonta also asked clients of anxious company to delete their data from the 23rd database before Sunday’s submission.
Here’s how customers can delete their data from 23Andme:
- thrust Your 23 -OR ACCOUNT on their website.
- Navigate in “Settings” Your profile section.
- Go down to the labeled section “23 -Indme data.”
- Click “Look” near “23 -Indme data.”
- Before deletion, you can Download your genetic data If you want to keep a personal copy.
- Move into “Delete data” Section and choose “Delete the data permanently.”
- Will receive a confirmation email; Follow the given connection to Confirm your deletion request.
Moreover, you can:
- Destroy the saved samples:
Go to your account “Preferences” And change your storage options to destroy your salivary and DNA sample. - Pull the search consent:
Sail “Product Search and Likes” In account settings to remember the permission for your data to be used in the research.
Federal defenses currently provided limited assistance to customers who have provided their genetic data to private companies as 23 -OR.
Health Insurance Account (HIPA), which protects medical data, does not extend to direct genetic testing companies to the consumer.
Whereas other laws such as the act of nondsCrimination of genetic information (GINA) provide some protection against discrimination, comprehensive data intimacy remains a considerable gap.
The bankruptcy law provides modest defense measures including federal court surveillance and occasionally intimacy ombudes, but these protections are limited.
Meanwhile, co -founder and CEO of 23Andme Anne Wojcicki announced her resignation on X and revealed plans to become an independent bidder for the company she helped build.
The main financial officer and accounting Joe Sessavage will open as a temporary general director during the transition.
Wojcicki, a biologist trained by Yale and former health care annean, 23-agent co-founder in 2006 with the vision of giving individuals direct access to their genetic data.
Her leadership and visibility help to push the start of the consumer biotechnics, especially given her personal high profile life, she had previously married Google Co-founder Sergey Brin and later dated former baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
Brin and Wojcicki split in 2013 and completed their divorce in 2015 after eight years of marriage.
The split was made public about the time reports of the time Brin became involved in a romantic relationship with a Google employee, Amanda Rosenberg, who works at the Google Glass marketing department now intact.
Although neither Brin nor Wojcicki publicly confirmed the issue as a cause, the media widely linked it to the breakdown of their marriage.
Both Rrin and Wojcicki have remained relatively private about the details and maintained a cordial relationship, especially for the sake of coating their two children.
In 2022, Brin, which has a net value rated by the Bloomberg Billionaire index at $ 140 billion since Monday, demanded a divorce from his second wife, Nicole Shanahan, who would continue to become a vice president in the 2024 elections while led Angside Ang.
Wojcicki dated the former Slugger A-Rod of Yankees from the beginning of 2016 to the beginning of 2017. The Pairift is reported to have been friendly, with sources suggesting that the lifestyle and their various accompanying circles contributed to the demolition.
Last summer, Wojcicki’s older sister, Susan Wojcicki, the former Director General of YouTube, who was one of the first employees to join Brin and co-founder Larry Page in Google when the search engine was a start in the late 1990s, dies. She was 56 years old.
With her scientific ancestry and links by Silicon Valley, Anne Wojcicki played a crucial role in navigating as scientific and regulatory trade testing barriers.
Her departure marks the end of an era for the company, though she made clear her commitment to 23, remains strong.
In her farewell post, Wojcicki accepted the rock route of the company, but expressed pride in her achievements.
“We’ve had a lot of successes, but I equally take responsibility for the challenges we have today,” she said.
While the company is looking for a new owner and a fresh direction, it remains to be seen if the next 23rd chapter will meet the bold vision that once made it a biotechnical dear.
“There is no doubt that the challenges they face 23 ORDERS through a developing business model have been true, but my confidence in the company and its future is steadfast,” she wrote.
The company is best known for its direct DNA testing to the consumer, which allow customers to analyze their origin and health risks using a purely salivary sample.
Once valued at $ 6 billion in the months following its initial public offer in 2020, the 23rd market capitalization has dropped to only $ 50 million.
At its peak, the 23rd shares were trading about $ 320 per share in early 2021. Since Monday, the share price is hovering below $ 1.
In recent years, the firm has faced increased pressure from investors and regulators, as well as legal problems arising from a massive data violation in 2023 that compromised the personal information of nearly seven million users.
Last September, the company agreed to pay $ 30m to repay a lawsuit linked to data violation.
In November, the company lowered 40% of its labor force in an effort to cut construction.
Mark Jensen, chairman and member of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors, said the decision to follow a court -supervised sale followed a “full assessment of strategic alternatives”.
“We expect that the court -supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further reduction in cost and resolving legal and rent obligations,” he said.
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