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After filing for bankruptcy, 23andMe says it’s received court approval to sell the company and its valuable DNA data.
A bankruptcy court in Missouri also cleared 23andMe to keep operating and paying its employees during the sale process.
The company plans to solicit bids over a 45-day period after the official petition date. But according to Bloomberg, the initial court hearing didn’t fully address the looming privacy concerns surrounding a sale. For now, a lawyer with the US Trustee’s office, which oversees bankruptcy cases for the Justice Department, told the judge a “a neutral third party” should act as an ombudsman to protect consumers' data.
Although 23andMe hopes to sell itself to “maximize the value of its business,” the company is trying to reassure the public that it won't make a deal with just anyone. “??To constitute a qualified bid, potential buyers must, among other requirements, agree to comply with 23andMe’s consumer privacy policy and all applicable laws with respect to the treatment of customer data,” the company said after securing the court order.
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Despite the reassurances, many—including US government officials—are urging 23andMe's 15 million customers to delete their data while they can. A key concern is that their sensitive DNA data could be used in ways that consumers never envisioned.
On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued an alert, reminding 23andMe users “they have a right to delete their genetic data and destroy DNA samples.”
“New Yorkers can follow instructions offered by my office to delete their data or destroy any DNA samples held by 23andMe,” she added. “Anyone experiencing issues deleting their information stored with 23andMe should contact my office.”
Users can delete their data by going to Settings, scrolling down to the 23andMe Data section at the bottom, and clicking View on the right. Enter your birthday, scroll to the bottom of the next page, and click Permanently Delete Data. 23andMe will then email you to confirm.