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The Indiana Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday that it has reached a consumer protection agreement with the buyers of 23andMe as part of the ancestry company’s bankruptcy sale.
“Hoosiers who have provided sensitive information to this company deserve assurance that their data will remain confidential and secure amid these bankruptcy proceedings,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a news release. “The agreement we forged with the new owners of 23andMe helps achieve this objective, and I’m proud of our team’s work toward achieving a resolution.”
Among the conditions agreed to by the buyer is a promise not to transfer any user genetic data to a third party.
23andMe, a San Francisco-based genetics and biotech company, filed for bankruptcy in March. The company was purchased for about $305 million by TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit created by 23andMe’s founder and CEO, Anne Wojcicki.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri approved the sale on Monday. The transaction is expected to close in the next few weeks.
TTAM also agreed to the following conditions as part of the sale:
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- Users are allowed to permanently delete their data at any time
- Money from TTAM’s bid for 23andMe will be used to help pay claims made by the over 6.9 million users who were impacted by a 23andMe data breach in 2023
- The nonprofit status of TTAM allows it to partner more freely with other public institutions and researchers to work toward health and medical research
“I am thrilled that TTAM will be able to build on the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. As a nonprofit, TTAM will be a champion of improving our knowledge of DNA–the code of life–for the public good, creating a resource to advance human health globally,” Wojcicki said in a statement to 23andMe’s website when the court approved TTAM’s purchase.
“Core to my beliefs is that individuals should be empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish. The future of health care belongs to all of us.”
Prior to 23andMe’s bankruptcy filing earlier this year, Rokita announced he was co-leading a coalition of 44 attorneys general to investigate a 2023 data breach that impacted over 6.9 million 23andMe users.
After the breach, sensitive data from users was allegedly posted on the dark web for sale.
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