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If 23andMe Is Up for Sale, So Is All That DNA (msn.com) 31

Posted by msmash from the PSA dept.
23andMe is not doing well. Its stock is on the verge of being delisted. It shut down its in-house drug-development unit last month, only the latest in several rounds of layoffs. Last week, the entire board of directors quit, save for Anne Wojcicki, a co-founder and the company's CEO. Amid this downward spiral, Wojcicki has said she'll consider selling 23andMe -- which means the DNA of 23andMe's 15 million customers would be up for sale, too. The Atlantic: 23andMe's trove of genetic data might be its most valuable asset. For about two decades now, since human-genome analysis became quick and common, the A's, C's, G's, and T's of DNA have allowed long-lost relatives to connect, revealed family secrets, and helped police catch serial killers. Some people's genomes contain clues to what's making them sick, or even, occasionally, how their disease should be treated. For most of us, though, consumer tests don't have much to offer beyond a snapshot of our ancestors' roots and confirmation of the traits we already know about. 23andMe is floundering in part because it hasn't managed to prove the value of collecting all that sensitive, personal information. And potential buyers may have very different ideas about how to use the company's DNA data to raise the company's bottom line. This should concern anyone who has used the service.

If 23andMe Is Up for Sale, So Is All That DNA More | Reply

If 23andMe Is Up for Sale, So Is All That DNA

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  • Department of Justice (Score:3)

    by C_Kode ( 102755 ) on Friday September 27, 2024 @04:50PM (#64822649) Journal

    I hear the Department of Justice is in on the bidding. ;)

  • I'm so glad I never gave them anything (Score:3)

    by Sebby ( 238625 ) on Friday September 27, 2024 @04:50PM (#64822651)

    I'm glad I was never foolish enough to give them any of my DNA.

    That's not to say they don't have it, if any relatives of mine ever gave them theirs.

  • Once again a reminder if you give your DNA out (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday September 27, 2024 @04:51PM (#64822653)
    The cops can get it without a warrant. These companies are more than happy to hand anything the cops ask for out no questions asked.

    That's all well and good until you catch a murder charge because your cousin was near a crime scene and now suddenly you were spending two or $300,000 on lawyers so you don't end up in jail for 25 years to life. Hell Missouri just executed a man they knew was innocent.

    If you want to know something about your genetics go see a doctor and have your DNA sequenced under proper HIPAA regulations.
    • "under proper HIPAA regulations" I think you confuse the world's of de jure and de facto. De jure, HIPAA would protect this data if it was clinical. De facto, the whole thing might one day be posted up for public consumption on a victim shaming site by a ransomware gang. You'll get free credit monitoring for a year in return when this happens. Also at this point, pre existing law enforcement databases of DNA (along with academic ones) is enough to pinpoint most people down to 1st-degree family members.
      • because none of the evidence in a leak like that would be admissible in court.

        Not that it isn't a concern, but I can't skip going to a doctor just because of that.

        What I can skip is pointless nonsense like 23andme.

        And if I'm not in their DB then they can't pin it to me. Yes, they can subpoena doctors, but not for "all the DNA you have". They would need a more specific subpoena.

        What worries me is getting caught in a dragnet, especially when I've seen John Oliver's bit on police interrogations
        • I do not believe data gleaned from a publicly released breach is court-inadmissible. The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine doesn't really cover data released by private individuals (even criminals) and not law enforcement. Even if it was inadmissible, parallel construction would allow law enforcement to easily bypass that issue de facto. The problem with DNA is that it is not just yours, it's shared with your family. If your long lost cousin got arrested and DNA tested, it's an easy path from there

          • The opposite happens as well. A number of rape cases were solved when a relative of the rapist was DNA tested for heritage. No criminal test necessary. You know they're most likely a cousin? Drops the suspect list to low enough to solve a lot of the time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      Unfortunately, HIPAA is primarily focused on corporate data sharing, not personal data privacy. They make it more difficult for individuals to get their own information than for corporations to get all of yours.

    • The reason for the execution wasn't because they were convinced of the guilt, but because being tough on crime gets you reelected. The system is broken when the reward system is based upon locking up people rather than locking up the correct people.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      troll is trolling

  • And it's gonna sell for pennies. (Score:3)

    by dmay34 ( 6770232 ) on Friday September 27, 2024 @04:59PM (#64822675)

    Your DNA isn't that valuable.

    --BUT BUT!!! HEALTHCARE INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!

    That's illegal. They can't do what you are thinking.

    --BUT BUT!!! THEY CAN LOBBY TO CHANGE THE LAW!!!

    Even if they did that successfully, your DNA isn't that valuable. This is literally the lesson 23&Me learned and why they are bankrupt.

    • I would argue the answers to security questions available on 23andme are more valuable than the DNA. Mother's maiden name? Grandfather's first name? Easy!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dmay34 ( 6770232 )

        HA! That is probably correct!

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      That's illegal. They can't do what you are thinking.

      Since when has that stopped corporate America. I believe you meant to say:

      That's illegal. They can't admit to doing what you are thinking.

      • That's illegal. They can't do what you are thinking.

        Since when has that stopped corporate America. I believe you meant to say:

        That's illegal. They can't admit to doing what you are thinking.

        Sure they can. Watch them. Not like you or anyone else is gonna do anything about it. That IS the problem with corporate “America”.

    • Oh but the medical insurers would love to be able to rate or deny people based on genetic makeup. They just need to buy the right legislators.

    • DNA as a whole, without identifying factors, is slightly interesting, but you don't need mass amounts of DNA for this, a sampling is quite adequate for scientific purposes.

  • Time to submit them PII data deletion requests.

  • All the messages and responses I have sent to people... Lots of good info I didn't copy down yet.

    Download a fresh copy of my DNA data.

    I'm wondering if I should go to FamilyTree or Ancestry.

  • I’m unconcerned. I really don’t care. I’m not that special. My DNA isn’t special. Guess what? Your’s probably isn’t all that special, either.

    If you think you’re own personal DNA is the special key to world domination, I’m so sorry, but it’s not.

    There are already large databases of DNA. Any company that wants that sort of data could walk down the street and offer 5 bucks for a DNA sample, and a huge chunk of people would take the offer. I’m
  • Since the only criteria for a bankruptcy sale is the highest bid, if a Chinese backed entity wanted to they could out bid anyone. I'm 100% confident they would be just as careful, open as honest as any Wall Street buyer would be. The information would never be used in any way that would harm anyonein the data set. Really.

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