- A bipartisan coalition of 28 AGs has filed a lawsuit against 23andMe Holding Co. and 23andMe, Inc. (collectively “23andMe”) to protect human genetic data collected by the company from being sold without consumers’ consent as a part of bankruptcy proceedings.
- In the complaint, the AGs argue that 23andMe is prohibited from selling or transferring the data without customers’ express informed consent because of customers’ inherent ownership rights in their own genetic data, state criminal statutes, and state genetic data privacy laws.
- The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment determining whether and to what extent 23andMe has the right to sell and transfer customers’ genetic data to a third party without first obtaining the express informed consent.
- The AGs have separately filed an objection to 23andMe’s proposed sale of their customers’ genetic data without customers’ express informed consent.