Alongside 26 states and the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania is suing to block the sale of DNA testing company 23andMe.
The complaint and a separate objection to the sale filed Monday center around the fact that 23andMe collects biological samples, DNA data and medical records, which they say is too sensitive to be sold without consent from customers. 23andMe has data from approximately 15 million users, according to a statement from Oregon's attorney general about the lawsuit.
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The company was founded in 2006 to help consumers learn about their ancestry and find relatives using saliva-based DNA kits sent to their homes. It went public in 2021, but then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. In May, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said it planned to buy the company for $256 million and comply with 23andMe's consumer privacy policies and applicable laws.
Still, given the highly sensitive nature of the data, the lawsuit argues that it can't be sold like ordinary property and requires consent from each person who sent in their information to the company.
"If the buyers are unwilling to provide such consent, it is possible that the information will be unable to be sold," the statement from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's office said. "In either case, the states will be helping ensure that people’s genetic data isn’t misused, exposed in future data breaches or used in ways customers never contemplated when they signed up to have their DNA analyzed."
A court-appointed independent review will now determine the future of the sale and how it might impact the consumer privacy.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday did not immediately return a request for comment on the 23andMe lawsuit. However, in May, his office released a statement encouraging consumers to consider deleting their accounts due to potential sale in order to protect their privacy.
Alongside Pennsylvania, the other states taking part in the lawsuit are 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.
