House panel launches probe into 23andMe bankruptcy, steps taken to protect genetic data

The House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into 23andMe over the risk of the company selling customers’ genetic material and information amid the biotech firm’s bankruptcy.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, Kentucky Republican, called on former 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki to testify before the committee to break down the bankruptcy filing and share documents and communications related to the potential sale of users’ genetic information.

“Personal DNA data of more than 15 million Americans is in jeopardy of being sold to the highest bidder & falling into the hands of China,” Mr. Comer said on X. “23andMe’s bankruptcy raises serious national security & data privacy concerns.”

The company specializes in personal genomics, sending test kits to customers who provide a saliva sample in the hope of finding out more about their ancestry, family traits and health risks. The company also has numerous deals in place with major pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and others.

The company went public in 2021, but after years of declining interest in test kits and a 2023 data hack, it filed bankruptcy earlier this year.

In a letter to Ms. Wojcicki, Mr. Comer said that the company’s bankruptcy announcement raised significant concern about the possible sale of troves of sensitive information and genetic material to malign foreign actors, like China.

The lawmaker warned that the intricacies of the bankruptcy process “underscored the risk” of where exactly consumers’ data would end up.

Foreign actors getting their hands on Americans’ genetic data and other sensitive information is just one example of the risks surrounding the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, the lawmaker said.

Genetic data also could be used to assess higher insurance premiums, restrict credit extensions and be used by corporations and businesses to better target advertising based on predispositions to certain medical conditions, Mr. Comer said.

Mr. Comer noted that in 2015, 23andMe received a $115 million investment from investors that included the corporate venture arm of WuXi AppTec, a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Then in 2023, the company was hacked and the data of roughly 7 million customers was exposed for a five-month span. Mr. Comer highlighted that Jewish and Chinese customers were the specific targets of the hack.

23andMe last month announced that it would seek voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and is looking for approval from the courts to “commence a process to sell substantially all of its assets.”

Mark Jensen, chair of the company’s Special Committee of the Board of Directors, said in a statement at the time that the firm was “committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

The company said later that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would not change how it stores, manages or protects customers’ data.

“Our users’ privacy and data are important considerations in any transaction, and we remain committed to our users’ privacy and to being transparent with our customers about how their data is managed,” the company said. “Any buyer of 23andMe will be required to comply with applicable law with respect to the treatment of customer data.”

The Washington Times reached out to 23andMe for further comment.