Millions of Americans who have used 23andMe’s genetic testing services may be at risk of having their DNA data exposed, as the company faces mounting turmoil.
Privacy advocates warn that the genetic information collected from over 15 million customers could be vulnerable to misuse, potentially impacting not only individual privacy but also that of their relatives.
Digital rights organization, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), has expressed serious concerns about the potential exposure of genetic data. EFF’s staff attorney Mario Trujillo and associate director of digital strategy Jason Kelley highlighted the risks associated with any sale or transfer of 23andMe’s vast DNA database.
“Research has shown that a majority of white Americans can already be identified from just 1.3 million users of a similar service, GEDMatch, due to genetic likenesses, even though GEDMatch has a much smaller database of genetic profiles. 23andMe has about 10 times as many customers,” they said in a …