The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has issued a consumer alert for state residents after the bankruptcy filing of a genetic testing and information company.
The company, 23andMe, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 23rd. Company officials said there are no changes to the way it stores, manages, or protects customer data, but the Attorney General’s Office is calling attention to a risk that 23andMe may attempt to sell Kansans’ genetic data and other private information as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Sarah Dietz said in a press release, “Because of the company’s current financial situation, we encourage Kansans to consider requesting deletion of their genetic data held by 23andMe.”
The Attorney General’s Office offered the following tips for people to delete their genetic data:
- Sign in to your 23andMe account at www.23andme.com.
- Navigate to your profile’s “Settings” section.
- Scroll down to the “23andMe Data” section at the bottom of the page.
- Click “View” next to the “23andMe Data” heading.
- If you would like to keep a copy of your genetic data, download your data before continuing.
- Locate the delete data option.
- Select “Permanently Delete Data”.
- Check your email for a confirmation link and follow it to complete the deletion process.
How to destroy your 23andMe Test Sample:
If you previously chose to allow 23andMe to store your saliva sample and DNA but would now like to opt-out, you can update your settings by going to “Preferences” on your account page.
To Revoke Permission for Your Genetic Data to be Used for Research:
If you previously consented to 23andMe and third-party researchers to use your genetic data and sample for research, you may withdraw consent from the account settings page under “Research and Product Consents.”
