PA Attorney General joins lawsuit to stop 23andMe's sale of customer data
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Following the filing of bankruptcy by 23andMe and their intent to potentially sell consumer data, PA Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Wednesday, June 11, his office is joining a bipartisan group of 28 Attorney Generals from across the country to file a lawsuit to block the sale.
23andMe, a popular DNA testing company, filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 and is now looking to sell off its assets by auction. Those assets would include sensitive genetic and health data of its customers.
'The millions of consumers — including many Pennsylvanians — who paid for these services certainly did not expect their sensitive data to one day be sold off to a highest bidder,' Attorney General Sunday said. '23andMe is trying to avoid their legal obligations to consumers simply by labeling this sale and transfer of consumer data as a 'change of ownership.' I continue to encourage 23andMe customers to consider deleting their data from the company's database.'
The lawsuit, filed in federal bankruptcy court on June 9, objects to the bankruptcy sale of the personal information that 23andMe collected and aims to stop the auctioning of it to the highest bidder. The argument is that this kind of information, such as biological samples, DNA data, and medical records, is too sensitive to be sold without every customer's consent and could potentially be used in ways that they were never informed of when they initially signed up for 23andMe.
Pennsylvania joins attorneys general from states like Arizona, Florida, New York, and West Virginia in the lawsuit.
Impacted consumers have until July 14, 2025, to file a proof of claim electronically and can submit a complaint to the Bureau of Consumer Protection or call the hotline at (800) 441-2555.
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