June 10, 2025 Twenty-seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia have sued to block the sale of customers’ genetic data by 23andMe, asserting it violates users’ consent rights amid the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The suit challenges whether the firm’s terms of service truly allow such sales.
“Biological samples, DNA data, health‑related traits and medical records are too sensitive to be sold without each person’s express, informed consent,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield stated in the complaint, arguing that people should control deeply personal information, which “cannot be sold like ordinary property.”
23andMe — known for at-home ancestry and health DNA testing — filed for bankruptcy in March after laying off about 40 % of staff amid declining demand. The company is now in talks with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which has offered more than US $256 million to acquire it, saying it will comply with existing privacy rules.
The lawsuit, filed in bankruptcy court, asserts that regardless of terms of service, users did not explicitly agree to having their genetic data treated like a corporate asset in bankruptcy. It specifically seeks to halt any data sale until a court-appointed privacy ombudsman reviews consent practices and protects user data.
State privacy advocates describe the case as a test of consumer rights in the expanding consumer genomics industry. The outcome could have ripple effects for competitors like Ancestry and MyHeritage, as well as for how biotech firms treat user data during corporate restructurings.
