Lily Jamalireport by Franciscoepa
Note outside the Biotechnology Company 23andme offices in southern San Francisco. Photo by George Nikitin / Epa-Efe / Rex / Shutterstock
The 23andme IT systems have struggled to deal with the volume of customers who are heading to delete their data, after the DNA testing company announced that it was putting protection against bankruptcy.
The company says that it has now solved the computer problems caused by the increase in traffic on its website at the start of the week.
But users reported in progress when they rushed to protect their genetic information, their health history and their descendants.
A number of those who have managed to delete their data also said to the BBC their current anxieties on the 23andme future.
The company filed a request for protection against the bankruptcy of chapter 11 on Sunday in order to sell itself by a process supervised by the court.
“If 23andm will be sold, my data can be sold, from what I hear,” said Danielle Landiscina, 52, from Maryland. Ms. Landriscina registered at 23andme in 2018 to connect with the members on the side of her father of the family.
“What prevents something like a health insurance company from buying my data, then using it to determine if I get health insurance or how much I have to pay for that?” “Added Ms. Landiscina, who works in technology sales.
Increase in traffic
For the moment, 23 and “will not voluntarily share your personal information” with insurance companies, indicates the company’s current confidentiality declaration.
But the future is less certain. The 23andm auction offered on May 14 of its assets could include the genetic data of its millions of customers.
To protect herself, Ms. Landiscina said she had tried several times to connect to her 23andme account from Tuesday morning, both on her phone and via a web browser.
Danielle Landriscina
Danielle Landriscina regrets putting her data back
She was one of the many customers asked to finish the e-mail connection process using two-factor authentication to check her identity.
She said that she had not received an verification code before evening and only saw it after a ten -minute window to use the expired code.
Earlier in the day, the company’s online chat service advised him to try again later due to an increase in traffic to the website. It was not until Tuesday evening that she was able to delete her account from the company’s database.
“If someone has problems with access to his account or deleting his data, he can go to our customer service site for support,” said a 23andme spokesman in response to a BBC survey.
The company has not responded to the subsequent emails detailing the complaints of customers that the BBC has learned.
Pauline long of Alabama also said that she had made several attempts to access her account from Tuesday morning.
“It was a nightmare and I will now be more prudent to do anything online,” said Ms. Long to the BBC in an email.
She said she waited two hours to chat with a customer service agent. She was finally able to delete her account on Tuesday evening, but expressed her skepticism as to whether the company had really deleted its information.
“I fear that 23andme keep the data,” said Ms. Long.
Purge your information
According to 23 and deleting an account and associated data will permanently delete the data associated with all the profiles of the account.
The general prosecutors of several American states – notably in California, Arizona, South Carolina and New York – advised customers of 23andm to purge their information from the company database given the sensitivity of the equipment it has amassed during its years of operation.
“Each individual will have a different appetite for the risk and will appreciate their own private information differently,” California Prosecutor Rob Bonta said on Monday by phone.
“It’s them what they are doing, but I wanted to advise them to delete.”
Friday, Mr. Bonta published a consumer alert offering users a guide step by step on what to do as signs of the financial distress of 23andme.
“It’s exactly a moment like this when a reminder of the rights and protections you have is appropriate, so you can determine if and how you want to exercise these rights,” said Bonta.
According to 23 and any buyer of the company must respect the laws that apply to the way in which customer data is processed, and any transaction will be subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Customers who previously asked 23 and 23 to store a DNA sample may wonder that it be destroyed.
For users who have opted for the 23andme search program, personal information will no longer be used in future research projects, said the company.
23andme said it would continue to protect customers’ data as indicated in its privacy policy.
But he recognized that if he was “involved in bankruptcy, a merger, an acquisition, a reorganization or a sale of assets, your personal information can be consulted, sold or transferred as part of this transaction”.
He indicates that his confidentiality declaration will apply to personal information when transferred to the new entity.
“A new company should continue to manage customer data under confidentiality policy,” said Anya Prince, professor at the Iowa College of Law University.
But, notes Prince, the company also affirms that it “can make changes” to its confidentiality declaration “from time to time”, leaving the door open to a new company modifying the way it manages customer data.
A story story
The 62 -year -old genealogist, Michele Lewis of Georgia, said that she had found the process of deleting her data simpler than another attempt she made a few months ago when she was subjected to a waiting period.
“It was much easier and it was deleted almost immediately,” Lewis told BBC in an email on Tuesday. “I have never really been too worried about confidentiality or hacking problems or anything, but this is not the first time that 23andm has problems.”
In 2023, millions of 23andm customer accounts were compromised in a massive data violation. The company has settled proceedings resulting from the violation in September.
Ms. Lewis, who used a 23andme test kit in 2008, said it was not difficult to separate from the company.
“I rarely access 23 and 23 anyway,” she said.
Some customers have said that experience offers a lesson.
“If I had to start again, I would not have done it,” said Ms. Landriscina. “The advantage does not prevail over what I think now, it is the evil to have my DNA there to sell it. It is very worrying.”
