The once-thriving consumer genetic-testing company 23andMe is struggling to stay afloat — raising concerns about what might happen to its customers’ data and the broader industry.
The decline marks a fall from grace for a pioneering company once valued at US$6 billion. Over the past few years, the firm has faced mounting challenges, including financial losses and a huge data breach, although this did not involve DNA data. In September, most of the company’s board resigned, and in November the firm said it would cut 40% of its workforce and halt its therapeutics division, which had drugs in clinical trials.
That and people found out the data was being used to identify people who hadn’t even taken the tests, but their family members had, and the data was being shared with third parties.
Yeah, that’s the number one thing for me, period. It sounds interesting to do a genetic profile and find out where I come from even though I already have my genealogy for eight generations back. (Native, we keep a roll)
But that being said, I don’t want my genetic information being sold to other people for no fucking reason other than they can.
If I am paying for a service, I should own the data generated by that service.
Short of that, you are not getting my money.