Attorney General Treg Taylor announced Monday that Alaska has reached a settlement with TTAM, the nonprofit entity poised to acquire most of 23andMe’s assets — including customer DNA data — through federal bankruptcy proceedings in Missouri.
“I’m pleased that my office’s aggressive approach to protecting Alaskans’ privacy paid off,” said Attorney General Taylor. “But I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t realize that the samples and data they gave to 23andMe could soon be controlled by a different entity. If you know somebody who took a 23andMe test, I encourage you to make sure they are aware of their right to have this sensitive information deleted.”
The agreement guarantees that Alaskans will receive privacy protections beyond those offered to residents of other states. According to the settlement, only those Alaskans who affirmatively consented to data or DNA sample sharing with third parties—or agreed to have their samples “biobanked”—will have that information accessed by TTAM.
For Alaskans who did not opt in, their personal data will not be shared with TTAM unless they later provide explicit consent.
Alaskans who previously consented to sharing their genetic data or biobanking their samples still have the right to request that 23andMe destroy the samples and delete their personal information. These requests can be made through individual 23andMe account settings.
Per the court’s order, TTAM may assume control of the data as early as 8:59 pm Alaska time on July 7. However, even after the transfer, TTAM has agreed to permanently honor deletion requests from former 23andMe users.
For Alaskans who never provided additional consents to 23andMe, data deletion may be requested immediately. Otherwise, the data will be automatically deleted after 12 months.
The settlement is reflected in the Alaska only terms described in the last pages of the court’s order, available at this link.
Additionally, Alaskans who believe they may have a claim against 23andMe, whether related to the 2023 data breach or other issues, must file a proof of claim. Forms are available online and must be submitted electronically or by mail no later than 4:59 pm CT on July 14 to be considered.
What makes anyone think their DNA data is not already out there?
Did you get a COVID test at any point? Gee…. I wonder if handing over a swab from the inside of your mouth might have had some DNA in it? Was your name and personally identifiable information attached to that sample?
If our information is gonna be sold, which it is all over the place, we should have our legislators write a law that gives us royalties on our own information sold.