AG Ellison Encourages 23andMe Customers to Delete Their Profiles

23andMe has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be reorganizing, with a sale possible. The company says in a blog post that any buyer would need to accept the current privacy policy and commit to safeguarding access to any information 23andMe has on file. That isn’t stopping worries from surfacing.

The state is encouraging customers to delete their profile and pull down sensitive genetic information that was gathered during DNA testing.

23andMe asks customers to take a DNA sample via cheek swab, which is then mailed in to determine more information about their family history. It has proven extremely popular in the United States as most residents trace their roots to a clan an ocean away. Children who were adopted can learn more about the parents they never knew. Hobbyists can use the data to confirm family lore and unreliable document records from 50 or 100 years ago that used to be the only clues to their history.

The benefits come with a cost in the form of turning over intimate information on par with health records and other closely guarded secrets. Attorney General Keith Ellison says, “Their bankruptcy proceedings raise reasonable questions about the future of 23andMe and how this important data will be safeguarded. Minnesotans may wish to proactively protect their own data by requesting the deletion of their account.”

23andMe says it has over 15 million customers worldwide.