CREATION, MAINTENANCE, AND GOVERNANCE OF THE COURTS. NOW TO THE LATEST ON THE 23 ANDME BANKRUPTCY FILING, THE BOARD’S CHAIR WANTS THE COURTS TO OVERSEE A SALE OF THE COMPANY, AND THE CEO OF THE GENEALOGY COMPANY HAS RESIGNED. BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL OF THOSE GENETIC PROFILES, AND WHAT CAN YOU DO TO TRY TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVATE GENETIC INFORMATION? JOINING US LIVE IS JASON KELLY WITH THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. A LOT OF PEOPLE DID THE 23 ANDME GENETIC TESTING, MAYBE EVEN GAVE THEM AS GIFTS. AND WE DON’T KNOW WHO’S GOING TO BUY THE COMPANY. SO WHAT CAN BAD ACTORS DO WITH ALL OF THIS DATA? WELL, THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION, KURTIS. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT JUST HOW PRIVATE DNA DATA IS, AND IT REVEALS THINGS LIKE BIOLOGICAL TRAITS, PROPENSITY FOR DISEASES, OBVIOUSLY. NOT TO MENTION YOUR ANCESTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES. SO THERE ARE SOME PROTECTIONS IN THE LAW FOR WAYS THAT THIS DATA CAN BE USED. FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY CAN’T USE IT TO DENY YOU COVERAGE RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE, THOSE LAWS COULD CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. AND BECAUSE THIS DATA IS SO PRIVATE AND IT CAN’T BE ALTERED, YOU KNOW, IF YOUR CREDIT CARD GETS STOLEN, YOU CAN FREEZE IT, YOU CAN CANCEL IT, YOU CAN GET A NEW ONE, BUT YOU CANNOT CHANGE YOUR DNA. SO I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF CONCERN THAT PEOPLE ARE HAVING ABOUT WHAT A COMPANY MIGHT DO TO CONNECT THAT INFORMATION TO OTHER THINGS ABOUT YOU, OR TO USE IT IN, LET’S SAY, A WAY THAT YOU NEVER EXPECTED. ALL RIGHT. SO HOW HARD IS IT TO DELETE YOUR PROFILE? WELL, LUCKILY IT’S FAIRLY EASY. EVERYONE WHO USES THE SERVICE CAN LOG INTO THEIR ACCOUNT SETTINGS AND GO TO REQUEST THAT THEIR ACCOUNT BE DELETED. YOU WILL HAVE TO RESPOND TO 23 ANDME VIA EMAIL. THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE REQUESTS ARE VALID, AND ONCE YOU DO THAT, THEY WILL DELETE YOUR PROFILE. THAT MEANS YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LOG INTO THE SERVICE. YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD YOUR DATA IF YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT USING IT FOR SOME OTHER SERVICE IN THE FUTURE. BUT ONCE YOU DO THAT, THEY SHOULD DELETE ALL OF IT. IT SHOULD ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES, AND UNFORTUNATELY YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO USE THE SERVICE ANYMORE. BUT I THINK THAT WILL GIVE MOST PEOPLE PEACE OF MIND THAT THEIR DATA IS NOT GOING TO BE MISUSED IN THE FUTURE. ALL RIGHT. AND WHAT ABOUT OTHER GENEALOGY WEBSITES AT THIS POINT? SHOULD PEOPLE BE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR INFO WITH THEM? WELL, MOST OF THESE SERVICES HAVE SOME PROTECTIONS IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, 23 AND ME ACTUALLY HAD A DATA BREACH NOT TOO LONG AGO THAT AFFECTED A SMALL NUMBER OF USERS. AND 23 ANDME GREW, I THINK, A LOT FASTER THAN THEY EXPECTED. AND UNFORTUNATELY TOOK ON A LOT MORE DEBT THAN THEY NEEDED TO. THAT’S WHY THEY’RE GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. THERE ARE CONCERNS IN GENERAL ABOUT WHO CAN ACCESS YOUR DATA, WHETHER THE COMPANIES REQUIRE WARRANTS, IF THEY WANT TO COMB THROUGH THAT INFORMATION. MOST OF THE SERVICES ARE RELATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD IN HOW THEY PROTECT THAT INFORMATION. AND SO I DON’T THINK PEOPLE SHOULD BE THAT WORRIED. BUT AT EFF, WE ALWAYS CAUTION PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE THAT INFORMATION GOES WHEN THEY’RE SIGNING UP FOR THESE SERVICES. AND JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU READ THROUGH THE BASICALLY TERMS OF SERVICE AND KNOW HOW MUCH THEY CAN GIVE TO OTHER COMPANIES, I DON’T THINK ANY OF THESE COMPANIES ARE GOING TO DISAPPEAR OVERNIGHT, BUT IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD THING TO JUST TAKE CAUTION AND MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT’S
How 23andMe customers can protect their data after the company’s bankruptcy filing
San Francisco-based 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it would pursue a sale, after years of struggling to find a sustainable business model. Many 23andMe customers signed up to the genetic testing service in hopes of learning fun or interesting information about their past. But consumer advocates are now urging those users to request the deletion of their accounts and data from the site, to prevent their genetic information from ending up in unexpected hands.KCRA 3 was joined by Jason Kelley from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Tuesday to talk about data protection. “A lot of people are concerned with just how private DNA data is,” said Kelley. “It reveals things like biological traits, propensity for diseases, not to mention your ancestry and your relatives.” He said that because DNA can’t be altered, people are worried about bad actors misusing their genetic information in the future.For tips on deleting your 23andMe profile, Kelley’s insights on other genealogy and more, watch the video player above. How to deleteTo delete data from 23andMe, customers should log in to their account and navigate to the “Settings” section of their profile. At the bottom of the page, click on “23andMe Data,” and then “View.” Users can then download their genetic data for their own, personal use before scrolling to the “Delete Data” section and clicking “Permanently Delete Data.”If customers previously opted to have their saliva sample retained by 23andMe, they can also request that it be discarded under their account settings page, under “Preferences.” And users can also withdraw consent to have their genetic information used by third-party researchers under “Research and Product Consents.”In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Bonta warned that consumers could encounter a slow or glitchy website when they go to delete their information, but encouraged them to keep trying.“I was attempting to delete my data today, and the website was down today at times,” Bonta said, adding that the outage may have been caused by heavy traffic to the site with many people seeking to delete their data.CNN contributed to this report. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
San Francisco-based 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it would pursue a sale, after years of struggling to find a sustainable business model.
Many 23andMe customers signed up to the genetic testing service in hopes of learning fun or interesting information about their past.
But consumer advocates are now urging those users to request the deletion of their accounts and data from the site, to prevent their genetic information from ending up in unexpected hands.
KCRA 3 was joined by Jason Kelley from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Tuesday to talk about data protection.
“A lot of people are concerned with just how private DNA data is,” said Kelley. “It reveals things like biological traits, propensity for diseases, not to mention your ancestry and your relatives.”
He said that because DNA can’t be altered, people are worried about bad actors misusing their genetic information in the future.
For tips on deleting your 23andMe profile, Kelley’s insights on other genealogy and more, watch the video player above.
How to delete
To delete data from 23andMe, customers should log in to their account and navigate to the “Settings” section of their profile. At the bottom of the page, click on “23andMe Data,” and then “View.” Users can then download their genetic data for their own, personal use before scrolling to the “Delete Data” section and clicking “Permanently Delete Data.”
If customers previously opted to have their saliva sample retained by 23andMe, they can also request that it be discarded under their account settings page, under “Preferences.” And users can also withdraw consent to have their genetic information used by third-party researchers under “Research and Product Consents.”
In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Bonta warned that consumers could encounter a slow or glitchy website when they go to delete their information, but encouraged them to keep trying.
“I was attempting to delete my data today, and the website was down today at times,” Bonta said, adding that the outage may have been caused by heavy traffic to the site with many people seeking to delete their data.
CNN contributed to this report.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
