Congressmen sound alarm over data privacy following 23andMe bankruptcy
Three members of the Congress of the Energy and Trade Committee of the Chamber raise concerns concerning the weeks of data confidentiality after the 23andme genetic testing company has filed for bankruptcy, putting the millions of personal information of customers for sale.
Republican representatives – Brett Guthrie from Kentucky, Gus Bilirakis from Florida and Gary Palmer de l’Alaska – sent a letter to 23andme on Thursday, interim managing director, Joe Sentsavage, asking for answers to answers several questions By May 1.
The questions revolve around the fate of the 23andme genetic database, which includes DNA information of more than 15 million people. Congress members asked the company how it would protect data in the event of sale and how it would examine potential buyers.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
23andme declared chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and received authorization from the United States Court of bankruptcy for the Missouri Oriental District to sell all its assets substantially. The company, founded in 2006 and Once evaluated at 6 billion dollarsPopularized DNA test kits at home and stimulated a trend in hunting ancestor and amateur criminal surveys.
But the company has failed to establish a sustainable business model, and as it has difficulty remaining afloat, experts, customers and government representatives are worried that genetic information could fall into the Bad hands.
“Given the absence of HIPAA protections, the patchwork of state laws covering genetic confidentiality and uncertainty surrounding what happens to customer information if a sale of data and information on customers and information take place, we fear that this draft of sensitive information is threatened to be compromised,” said the letter of energy and commerce.
Although any 23andmian buyer has agreed to comply with the company’s privacy policy, this policy can be changed unilaterally at any time, according to Sara Geoghegan, main lawyer of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
“I would be very worried if I had gave a swab at 23andm,” said Geoghegan. “We can do nothing to control what is happening to him.”
The bankruptcy deposit prompted California Atty. General Rob Bonta to issue a consumer alert Undering customers to delete the data they had provided to the company.
“Given the reported financial distress of 23andm, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and destroying any sample of genetic material held by the company,” Bonta wrote.
The 23andme website crashed after the warning while customers rushed to connect, the Wall Street Journal reported. Thursday’s letter raised the problem, noting that “customers encounter problems accessing and deleting their data”.
Guthrie, Bilirakis and Palmer are the last representatives of the government to express their concern concerning the situation. The Chamber Committee on Government Surveillance and Reform and the Federal Trade Commission also sent letters to 23 and recently stimulated data protection.
23andme published a open letter To customers at the end of March, assure them that their data would remain protected in the event of sale.
