PA Residents Could Have Genetic Data Sold: Latest Info

PENNSYLVANIA — The state is now part of a bipartisan coalition involved in a lawsuit attempting to block 23andMe's impending sale of consumer genetic data following the company's recent bankruptcy filing.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that his office is joining 27 other attorneys general in a filing in federal bankruptcy court aiming to stop 23andMe from auctioning off private genetic data to the highest bidder without consumers' knowledge or consent.

"The millions of consumers — including many Pennsylvanians — who paid for these services certainly did not expect their sensitive data to one day be sold off to a highest bidder,” Sunday said in a statement.

“23andMe is trying to avoid their legal obligations to consumers simply by labeling this sale and transfer of consumer data as a ‘change of ownership.’ I continue to encourage 23andMe customers to consider deleting their data from the company’s database.”

23andMe, a popular direct-to-consumer DNA testing company, filed for bankruptcy and is now seeking to sell off its assets – including sensitive genetic and health data – in an auction.

Genetic samples can reveal everything from a person's health predispostions to their food preferences and offer considerable potential for everything from medical research to advertising, CNN reported.

Sunday said Pennsylvania and other states filed the lawsuit to protect each consumer’s right to control such deeply personal information and prevent it from being sold.

The states contend that information such as biological samples, DNA data, health-related traits, and medical records – is too sensitive to be sold without each person’s informed consent.

If the parties that seek to buy that information from 23andMe are unwilling to provide such consent, it is possible that the information will be unable to be sold. In either case, the states will be helping ensure that consumers’ genetic data isn’t misused, exposed in future data breaches, or used in ways consumers never anticipated when they signed up for 23andMe.

Consumers who have been impacted by the bankruptcy of 23andMe may submit a complaint to the Bureau of Consumer Protection online or they may call the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-441-2555.

Joining Pennsylvania in the lawsuit are the attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.