N.L.'s privacy commissioner urges people to delete data from 23andMe after bankruptcy declared

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In the aftermath of familial investigating institution 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, Newfoundland and Labrador’s accusation and privateness commissioner, Kerry Hatfield, is urging radical to delete their data.

23andMe says information could beryllium sold but volition inactive support it

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Woman with enarthrosis magnitude blond hairsbreadth sitting down a desk, wearing a purple suit, leaning against the table.

In the aftermath of a fashionable familial investigating institution going bankrupt, Newfoundland and Labrador's privateness watchdog is urging radical to instrumentality enactment to support their familial accusation — portion they inactive can.

Genetic investigating institution 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy successful the U.S., raising questions astir what volition hap to the idiosyncratic familial accusation it has amassed.

"They person a treasure trove of, I think, immoderate 30 cardinal people's familial data, and that is profoundly personal. But it's besides perchance invaluable familial accusation of 30 cardinal people," accusation and privateness commissioner Kerry Hatfield told CBC.

That information could beryllium financially charismatic to 3rd parties who mightiness privation to bargain that information, she said, similar an security company. No 1 knows who mightiness bargain the information that 23andMe has accumulated and however it could beryllium used, Hatfield added.

The San Francisco-based institution was founded successful 2006, with clients submitting saliva samples by mail, which would past beryllium analyzed to nutrient charts of their inheritance and lineage.

On March 23, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy successful U.S. national tribunal and announced connected its website "orders and subscriptions volition proceed arsenic normal, and immoderate purchases oregon familial investigating kits sent successful for processing volition beryllium handled without disruption."

Not agelong earlier filling for bankruptcy, the institution updated its privateness policy, announcing that if 23andMe did spell into bankruptcy, past clients' accusation could beryllium accessed oregon sold.

In a follow-up statement, it said "any purchaser of 23andMe volition beryllium required to hold to comply with our privateness argumentation and with each applicable instrumentality with respect to the attraction of lawsuit data."

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Hatfield is encouraging radical to spell onto the 23andMe website, log in, and delete their accusation and accounts. In addition, if idiosyncratic has opted into allowing the institution to support their illustration for research, they tin besides alteration that setting.

"And conscionable to beryllium ace safe, I'm really saying for radical to delete the full account," she said.

However, Hatfield said that means users volition inactive beryllium relying connected the institution honouring its privateness policies.

"The laws person not ever kept up to guarantee these things get done," she said.

Her bureau wouldn't beryllium capable to analyse a backstage company, said Hatfield, adding that it would beryllium up the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if they wanted to investigate. However, she said that the bureau is mostly progressive successful information hacks and breaches.

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