At home in 23 OME, Mail-in sells DNA testing kites and made a name for himself that the common man looked at their potential predecessors as well as genetic identities that could indicate possible treatment problems on the street.
People bought the idea and bought the kites. The company has made a lot of money, and has reached more than $ 6 billion after being public in 2021. Its value came down to about $ 50 million last week. The company also suffered In 2023 the breach of lots of dataTo add to its mounting costs and destroy confidence in its data protection practice. By the end of last year, it said that it would leave 40% of its staff.
So it wasn’t a surprising thing that after the failure of the last-minor bid to take the company’s personal to the company by CEO, 23 and end Chapter At the end of March, this is the hope that this move will help it Reduce the cost of further and bring company salesThe
The possibility of selling the bankruptcy court is now worried about data privacy experts. From a financial point of view, 23 and ME’s millions of genetic samples and reports are easily the largest asset. However, it is some of their personal and personal information for the company’s customers.
While declaring the fileing of bankruptcyMark Jensen, chairman of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the Board of Directors of 20 and OME, said the company “is committed to being transparent in protecting customer data and moving user data forward.”
He also added that “Data privacy in any possible transaction would be an important consideration.”
However, it is not clear how much control over 23andme, if someone is buying the company and what do consumers prefer to do with the data treasure trave. In the sale of Chapter 5, the judge is overseeing the case, and itself is not the company, who has made the final statement about who is the buyer.
“The problem we have at the moment is the question we have more questions than our answers, with the check point software, security architect Aaron Rose said on Monday.
Rose mentions that when customers seemed to have stopped the company’s 2021 data violations, as a result, the company’s 1 million users were compromised at that time, the filling seemed to be a necessary awakened call.
“The people didn’t take [the breach] This is seriously, “Rose said.” Now we have a situation where we do not know who will own this data. “
Concerns about data protection
Many consumers are equally nervous in the thought of unknown ownership, Rose said. And some data privacy experts on it are advising them to delete 23 and my accounts and request to destroy their samples and other data.
Ryan Sulkin, a law firm Benesh partner and leader of its data protection practice group, has said that the case is unprecedented in many ways. Although hospital and health insurance companies have been through the Chapter 11 process, the 23 and MEE case can be first, considering the large amount of biometric and genetic data involved.
In general, Sulakin said that when companies are sold, human data is protected by the privacy policy when that data is collected.
But at the same time there is no extensive federal privacy law in the United States that will protect 23 and ME data. Health insurance laws and accountability laws, or HIPA laws, do not apply in this case, because he said, though 23andme’s data may seem medical based on the law, but it is not a law defined by the law.
Sulakin said that some of the users living in one of the 20 states have passed some security laws may have some protection. And he correctly predicted that the Federal Trade Commission could be interested in this case and found out that it wants customers to secure data.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Monday The US has issued a letter to the trusteeIt says that many Americans are concerned about the possible impact of bankruptcy cases on their data privacy. He said the FTC believes that the federal bankruptcy is compatible with the law, the company must spell promises on its current data privacy policy.
In the end, however, the consumer data of the company will be determined by the bankruptcy court, which Sulkin said that perhaps an OmbudSerson would be responsible for the at least the theory that would be responsible to protect customers’ privacy rights.
“But whatever, the bank will have a tension in the bankruptcy court mission to protect the price as much as possible, and at the same time respect the privacy rights of the individuals,” he said.
Sulakin said one thing to keep in mind is 23 and ME buyers, especially if they are based, or at least partially out of the United States. He pointed to the ongoing debate on Tiktok, which is the lawmakers Last year voted for the ban Its data collection practice and concern about relationships with China.
Sulakin said the judge could choose to reject a bid from a foreign company because of similar concerns.
And 23 and I have noted that any possible sales will also be subject to the approval of federal regulators and the laws and laws of foreign investment to US companies must be complied with.
Time to delete?
Uncertainty that is about to wander around the future of 23 and ME, people concerned about their data privacy and protection may want to delete their accounts and request their data to be destroyed sooner than the next time.
Darren Williams, the founder and chief executive officer of the cyberquacy company Blackfog, chose to do this. He confirmed that his family members did the same.
Although it is probably 23 and its data-sharing practices will not change at any time, but it is always likely that its customer data may end in the wrong hand, whether it be through any other data violation or by sale to a company that should be as careful with consumer data.
Williams said, “Unfortunately, we now live in a world where data exaltation is ideal, no exception,” Williams said. “And once that data is gone on the Dark web and actually taken, there is no way to get that data back.”
He said that if cyber criminals get their hands on them, what can be done with that data still remains unclear. If experts have been stolen in violation of healthcare with healthcare, most online criminals are financially inspired by what can happen, and in most cases no way for medical information has been found.
At least, the more information that the attackers about a given person are, they can create a larger profile among them, Williams said they were at risk of socially engineering phishing and other online attacks.
Although these concerns are valid, Rose said that the risks are compared to the rewards and then they decide whether they want to delete their accounts Individual Rose, long -time 23 and my user, saying that he is in the process of doing so right now.
Regardless of how the 23ndme case is effective, Rose said he hopes that it makes people a little aware of how much their personal data is and requested them to think twice before transferring data to companies.
In the eyes of Sulakin, 23 and my users who are concerned about protection and privacy are best to erase and destroy as soon as possible, only because of the uncertainty around this case. But he hopes that people will be more careful about their personal information.
“They provide information at the company today by the company that it does not mean that the company will show the same year from now or two years or three years from now,” said Sulakin. “And they need to be aware of it.”