- The House Energy and Trade Committee is investigating the 23andme decision to file for bankruptcy.
- The committee sent a series of questions to the biotechnology company with a deadline of May 1.
- 23andme is looking for a new owner and assesses the potential acquisition offers.
The Chamber’s Energy and Trade Committee has a few questions for 23 and 23.
The Brett Guthrie representatives, Gus M. Bilirakis and Gary Palmer sent a letter to the acting CEO of the Biotechnology Society, Joe Sentsavage, on April 17. The Committee said he had launched an investigation into the 23andme decision to file the bankruptcy of Chapter 11 and “the ramiftacations that the process could have on the highly sensitive information from the Millions of American”.
“With the absence of a federal law on confidentiality and security of complete data, we write to express our great concern about the security of the most sensitive personal information of the Americans,” the members of the Congress wrote.
23andme initiated voluntary procedures in Chapter 11 in March after having chopped more than 200 employees and closed its therapeutic division last November. The company has resisted several storms in recent years, especially when hackers have reached personal data of nearly 7 million users in 2023, which led to a payment agreement of $ 30 million with affected people.
More recently, 23andme has shared details on the sales process approved by the court, saying that all potential buyers must comply with its privacy policy and all applicable laws.
A representative of 23 and referred to a press release of April 18 which shared more details on the potential sale.
Among the stipulations, the company said that potential bidders should provide “detailed descriptions of their planned use of customer data purchased, describe the privacy programs and the security checks they have in place or implement, and disclose whether an existing confidentiality policies would be requested – because any change must be made in accordance with applicable. “
A representative of the Chamber’s Energy and Trade Committee said that 23 and 23 and has a deadline for May 1 to answer the following questions.
- If 23ANDM had to sell the personal information of its customers as an autonomous actor or in the context of a broader sale of the company, what protections of confidentiality and security of post-sales data would be in place for the personal information of its customers?
- Please describe how the representations made in the 23andme privacy declaration will continue to apply – and be applied – if the personal information of 23andm customers is sold to a third party. Please include information on what, if necessary, would hold a third -party buyer to the 23andme confidentiality declaration or prevent him from using, transferring or selling or otherwise of such information in the future.
- 23Andme plans to modify his confidentiality declaration at any time before selling personal information from customers? If this is the case, please explain the change 23andme plans to implement and when these changes will come into force.
- 23Andme does he intend to check the potential buyers to which he can sell the personal information of his customers? In the affirmative, please detail the verification process and it will include the history of the potential buyer of the implementation of data security protections and compliance with sectoral, state or other laws on confidentiality and data security. Otherwise, please explain why.
- Please detail the customer information categories 23andme, and that 23andme plans to sell.
- 23Andme informed his clients of the announcement of the bankruptcy of the company? If so, please join the customer notification. Otherwise, please explain why.
- 23Andme provided its customers with a guide to delete or request to delete information currently in possession of 23andme? If this is the case, please provide a copy of this guide and specify when it has been provided to customers. Otherwise, please explain why and explain if 23andme will contact each of its customers and offer the possibility of deleting your personal information before a potential sale of the company or the personal information maintained by the company.
- Please detail the number of requests that 23 and have received from its customers to delete their personal information between the moment when 23andme has filed a bankruptcy and the date of the response to this letter. Among these requests, please provide ventilation of the number of requests that have been made by customers via their 23andme online accounts and the number of people via customer service calls because customers have failed to delete their information via their online accounts. From these requests, please detail the number of requests completed.
- 23Andme will offer to sell information in which a customer requested the deletion of this information? If so, does the 23andme privacy policy plan to sell information as a legitimate objective to keep information after a customer’s request to delete your information?
- 23Andme will disidentify the personal information of its customers before selling it or of the company? If this is the case, please detail the information that will be disidentified. Otherwise, please explain why the company chooses not to disidentify the information.
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