Attorney General Kris Kobach issued a consumer alert, warning Kansas residents of the recent bankruptcy filing by “23andMe”, a direct-to-consumer genetic testing and information company. “23andMe” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 23. The company says there are no changes to the way the company stores, manages or protects customer data. However, the bankruptcy raises the risk that “23andMe” may attempt to sell Kansans’ genetic data and other private information, as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
Since this data is incredibly personal and sensitive, it’s important to understand your rights under Kansas’s privacy laws, including how to delete your genetic data from “23andMe” . If you previously consented to “23andMe” and third-party researchers to use your genetic data and sample for research, you may withdraw consent from the account settings page under “Research and Product Consents”.
Further instruction on how to delete genetic data from “23andMe” can be found on the KOFO facebook page and the Kansas Attorney General facebook page.
