Because it was based practically 20 years in the past, 23andMe has grown into one of many largest biotechnology corporations on the earth. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have used its easy genetic testing service, which entails ordering a saliva take a look at, spitting right into a tube, and sending it again to the corporate for an in depth DNA evaluation.
However now the corporate is getting ready to chapter. This has raised considerations about what is going to occur to the troves of genetic information it has in its possession.
The corporate’s chief government, Anne Wojcicki, has mentioned she is dedicated to buyer privateness and can “maintain our current privacy policy”.
However what can prospects of 23andMe themselves do to verify their extremely private genetic information is protected? And may we be involved about different corporations that additionally acquire our DNA?
What’s 23andMe?
23andMe is among the largest corporations within the crowded market for direct-to-consumer genetic testing. It was based in 2006 in California, launching its spit take a look at and Private Genome Service the next 12 months, at an preliminary price of US$999. This take a look at gained Time journal’s Invention of the Yr in 2008.
Clients eagerly took up the chance to order a saliva assortment package on-line, spit within the tube and mail it again. In just a few weeks when the outcomes had been prepared they may discover out about their well being, ancestry, and different issues like meals preferences, concern of public talking and cheek dimples.
The worth of testing kits dropped quickly (it is now US$79). The corporate expanded globally and by 2015 had 1 million prospects. The agency went public in 2021 and initially the inventory worth soared. As of 2024, the corporate claims 14 million individuals have taken a 23andMe DNA take a look at.
23andMe rode the wave of widespread pleasure and investor curiosity in genetics. It wasn’t alone. By 2022 the direct-to-consumer genetic testing market was valued at US$3 billion. The three largest gamers – 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage – collectively maintain the genetic information of just about 50 million individuals globally.
There are dozens of smaller gamers too, with some specializing in rising markets corresponding to MapMyGenome in India and 23mofang and WeGene in China.
What occurred to 23andMe?
23andMe has had a fast downfall after the 2021 excessive of its public itemizing.
Its worth has dropped greater than 97%. In 2023 it suffered a main information breach affecting virtually seven million customers, and settled a category motion lawsuit for US$30 million.
Final month its seven impartial administrators resigned amid information the unique founder is planning to take the corporate non-public as soon as extra. The corporate has by no means made a revenue and is reportedly on the verge of chapter.
What this may imply for its huge shops of genetic information is unclear.
When individuals join a 23andMe take a look at the corporate assures them: “your privateness comes first“. It guarantees it can by no means share individuals’s DNA information with employers, insurance coverage corporations or public databases with out consent.
It places selection within the arms of customers about whether or not their spit pattern is stored by the corporate, and whether or not their de-identified genetic and different information is used in analysis. 4 in 5 individuals who purchased a 23andMe take a look at have agreed to their information being utilized in analysis.
Nonetheless, when you dig a bit deeper, it is clear that 23andMe makes use of individuals’s information in many various methods, corresponding to sharing it with service suppliers. Maybe most significantly, if the corporate goes bankrupt or is bought, individuals’s data could be “accessed, bought or transferred” as effectively.
In a press release to The Dialog, a 23andMe spokesperson mentioned Wojcicki is “not open to considering third-party takeover proposals”, and that within the occasion of any future possession change, the corporate’s present information privateness agreements with prospects “would remain in place unless and until customers are presented with, and agree to, new terms and statements – and only after receiving appropriate notice of any new terms, under applicable data protection laws”.
Ideas for individuals to guard their genetic information
With 23andMe within the highlight, individuals may wish to take steps to guard their genetic information (though specialists say there’s probably not any extra threat now than there has all the time been).
The only factor is to delete your account, which opts you out of any future analysis and discards your saliva pattern. But when your information has already been de-identified and utilized in analysis, it might’t be retrieved. And even when you delete your account, 23andMe says it can hold maintain of knowledge together with your genetic information, date of start and intercourse, to adjust to its personal authorized obligations.
Shopping for a DNA take a look at on-line may really feel enjoyable and rewarding and it is actually been marketed that approach. There are many excellent news tales about how getting these take a look at outcomes has helped individuals to attach with misplaced household or perceive extra about their well being dangers. Individuals simply want to purchase exams with their eyes open about what this may imply.
First, the outcomes may not be all constructive. Discovering out about well being dangers with out steering from a well being skilled could be scary. Studying that the particular person you thought was your mum or dad really is not, is an end result for as many as 1 in 20 individuals who’ve purchased a DNA take a look at on-line.
Second, each firm promoting DNA exams does so with plenty of authorized situations connected. Individuals click on by these and not using a second thought however researchers have proven it’s value taking a more in-depth look. Think about what the corporate says about what it can do together with your information and your pattern, how lengthy they are going to hold it, who else can entry it, and the way simple it will likely be to delete later.
There are pointers from organisations like Australian Genomics that may assist. And keep in mind that if an organization holding your DNA profile is bought, it could be onerous to guarantee that information is protected.
So perhaps rethink giving a DNA take a look at as a Christmas present.
Megan Prictor, Senior Lecturer in Regulation, The College of Melbourne
This text is republished from The Dialog underneath a Artistic Commons license. Learn the unique article.
