Lawmakers Call for Company to Obtain Customers’ Consent Before Including Their Data in Bankruptcy Sale

Text of Letter

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), along with Congressmen Eli Crane (R-AZ), Dave Min (D-CA), and Eric Burlison (R-MO) sent a letter to 23andMe demanding they ensure that no individual’s data—identified or de-identified—will be retained, transferred, or sold without their affirmative consent prior to any bankruptcy sale. Last week, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Pressley  slammed 23andMe for exploiting people’s DNA and demanded the company protect their private information.   

“Genetic data is among the most intimate and sensitive personal information to exist, and 23andMe has proven inadequate in fulfilling its responsibility to protect it,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to 23andMe Co-Founder Anne Wojcicki and interim CEO Joe Selsavage. “People deserve and require a clear choice about how their data will be handled going forward.”

In her June 10 testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Ms. Wojcicki shared that “a threat actor had gained access to a limited number of individual 23andMe accounts” in October 2023. In reality, nearly seven million people—roughly half of 23andMe’s customers—had their personal and genetic data exposed in a major data breach.

“This is not a ‘limited’ incident, but a systemic failure of data protections and accountability,” the lawmakers continued. “Now, this same data is at the heart of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The mass confusion and fear this has caused—including the crashing of 23andMe’s website as nearly two million users rushed to delete their accounts—has undermined trust in the company’s ability to handle this information.”

The lawmakers requested that 23andMe provide additional details on their ability and willingness to contact each of their 15 million customers—prior to any sale—and obtain their explicit consent to opt-in to having their data included in any transaction.

Last week, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley slammed 23andMe for exploiting people’s DNA and private information following a severe data breach and bankruptcy, and demanded 23andMe require the explicit, informed consent of each of their customers before including their data in any bankruptcy sale. Full video of her hearing question line is available here.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

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