Vermont joins multistate lawsuit to protect 23andMe users’ private genetic information

Vermont has joined 27 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the recently bankrupt genetic testing company 23andMe’s proposed sale of its assets, including consumers’ sensitive personal data.

The information — including DNA data, biological samples and medical records — of roughly 15 million 23andMe customers without their informed consent is at risk of being auctioned off as part of the company’s bankruptcy sale. The states’ lawsuit seeks to prevent the misuse of sensitive data, arguing that genetic information cannot be sold without expressed consent from consumers, according to a Tuesday press release from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. 

“Genetic information is some of the most sensitive information a company can hold about a person,” Attorney General Charity Clark said in the release. “Vermonters’ genetic information shouldn’t be up for sale without their consent.”

Once valued at $6 billion, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in March after declining consumer demand and a major 2023 breach of nearly 7 million users’ data, which resulted in a $30 million class‑action settlement, Reuters reported.

The Attorney General’s Office was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

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