Glenn Cohen
Appearances
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
The happy scenario is it's bought by another company that's even more public spirited and even more privacy sensitive and even more cyber secure than 23andMe is. And then actually, guess what? You've got an upgrade in terms of your protection.
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
The negative story is that it's sold by someone who, you know, initially agrees to abide by the 23andMe privacy statement, but privacy statements can change and then changes it pretty rapidly and One would hope that the company would offer you an opportunity to opt out. But guess what? I get a million of these privacy statement kind of notifications all the time.
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
And I often just ignore them or click through or don't realize it's something I'm supposed to do.
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
So if for some reason, if your information was shared with your employer, right? So it's to say you have a predisposition towards Alzheimer's, for example, right? That would be the kind of thing that if an employer tried to act on it, the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, GINA, might prevent them from discriminating.
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
You could bring a lawsuit just as you could for racial discrimination or other kinds of discrimination. That's a practical protection.
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
Ask yourself whether you feel as though you've gotten the benefit of what you hope from the product now. You don't think there's much more you're intending to get out of it. you might consider deleting your account. Now, of course, that's going to terminate the ability for people to use it to develop drugs and therapeutics, right?
Planet Money
How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
So there's a downside to this, and I don't want people just to do this willy-nilly. But think about whether you feel like you want to have an ongoing relationship with this company or the possibility of a successor company.