The bankruptcy of 23andMe has led to plans for auctioning off the DNA data of approximately 15 million individuals, raising significant privacy concerns. While some experts caution that the data could fall into the wrong hands, others see potential for advances in human health research. Academic voices emphasize the need for ethical oversight to ensure the data is used appropriately. The risk of changing privacy policies could expose individuals to higher insurance premiums and forensic searches following a previous security breach in 2023 that affected millions.
As far as I know, this is the most amount of genetic data that is potentially changing hands," University of Iowa bioethicist Anya Prince told Nature.
If a future buyer is not interested in research collaborations, it would be a great shame that the potential this data holds for human health advances would not be realized," University of Exeter geneticist Rachel Freathy, whose research collaboration with 23andMe was cut short due to the bankruptcy, told Nature.
While we "don't have to freak out yet," as Baylor College of Medicine bioethicist Amy McGuire added, 23andMe could alter its privacy policy in the future, allowing the likes of insurance companies or law enforcement agencies to access the data.
23andMe has already proven to be vulnerable to hacking. The personal data of nearly seven million customers was exposed in 2023, the result of a " very dumb" security lapse.
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