Laura Cordes

But there's another way of looking at Aunt Voli's question about whether or not she should be worried. Because no matter who buys 23andMe, there's still the question of what they could do with all this genetic data. Like, what do the actual laws say? Legally speaking, what could a new owner get away with? And what's not allowed?

But there's also a world in which the company that ends up buying 23andMe's genetic database ends up sharing it with third parties or using it in ways that its customers probably wouldn't have agreed to when they, you know, originally spit into those tubes and sent them in.

But there's also a world in which the company that ends up buying 23andMe's genetic database ends up sharing it with third parties or using it in ways that its customers probably wouldn't have agreed to when they, you know, originally spit into those tubes and sent them in.

But there's also a world in which the company that ends up buying 23andMe's genetic database ends up sharing it with third parties or using it in ways that its customers probably wouldn't have agreed to when they, you know, originally spit into those tubes and sent them in.

But even if a new buyer changes the privacy policy, it's not like they could just do anything with ANFOVI's data. Glenn says there are some legal protections that might apply here. Now, Aunt Vovey's genetic data is not considered privileged health information, which would be covered by HIPAA.

But even if a new buyer changes the privacy policy, it's not like they could just do anything with ANFOVI's data. Glenn says there are some legal protections that might apply here. Now, Aunt Vovey's genetic data is not considered privileged health information, which would be covered by HIPAA.

But even if a new buyer changes the privacy policy, it's not like they could just do anything with ANFOVI's data. Glenn says there are some legal protections that might apply here. Now, Aunt Vovey's genetic data is not considered privileged health information, which would be covered by HIPAA.

That's because HIPAA is for health care providers like doctors and hospitals, not consumer facing companies like 23andMe. But he explained that there is one federal law that is meant to prevent abuses of specifically this kind of genetic data. It's called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act or GINA.

That's because HIPAA is for health care providers like doctors and hospitals, not consumer facing companies like 23andMe. But he explained that there is one federal law that is meant to prevent abuses of specifically this kind of genetic data. It's called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act or GINA.

That's because HIPAA is for health care providers like doctors and hospitals, not consumer facing companies like 23andMe. But he explained that there is one federal law that is meant to prevent abuses of specifically this kind of genetic data. It's called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act or GINA.

Still, Glenn points out that GINA is a relatively narrow law. It does not apply to life insurance or disability insurance. Those companies could still potentially change their coverage based on this genetic information. And also, there are just still a lot of unknown potential consequences to allowing your genetic data to circulate on the market.

Still, Glenn points out that GINA is a relatively narrow law. It does not apply to life insurance or disability insurance. Those companies could still potentially change their coverage based on this genetic information. And also, there are just still a lot of unknown potential consequences to allowing your genetic data to circulate on the market.

Still, Glenn points out that GINA is a relatively narrow law. It does not apply to life insurance or disability insurance. Those companies could still potentially change their coverage based on this genetic information. And also, there are just still a lot of unknown potential consequences to allowing your genetic data to circulate on the market.

Which puts 23andMe in this kind of ironic position, right? The very same customer privacy policy that gave them the right to sell their customers' data also gives their customers the right to, you know, boop, delete themselves.

Which puts 23andMe in this kind of ironic position, right? The very same customer privacy policy that gave them the right to sell their customers' data also gives their customers the right to, you know, boop, delete themselves.

Which puts 23andMe in this kind of ironic position, right? The very same customer privacy policy that gave them the right to sell their customers' data also gives their customers the right to, you know, boop, delete themselves.

And every customer that removes themselves from this database makes it a tiny bit less valuable as an asset in bankruptcy, which, for 23andMe, makes closing this bankruptcy sale as quickly as possible even more urgent.

And every customer that removes themselves from this database makes it a tiny bit less valuable as an asset in bankruptcy, which, for 23andMe, makes closing this bankruptcy sale as quickly as possible even more urgent.

And every customer that removes themselves from this database makes it a tiny bit less valuable as an asset in bankruptcy, which, for 23andMe, makes closing this bankruptcy sale as quickly as possible even more urgent.

This episode was produced by Sylvie Douglas. It was edited by Jess Jang, fact-checked by Tyler Jones, and engineered by Harry Paul and Neil Rauch. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.