DNA as Data

JOSHUA STYLMAN

This week, 23andMe – once a $6 billion biotech star – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving 15 million DNA samples in limbo. A darling of Oprah’s “Favorite Things,” it tanked after one-and-done sales, a 2023 data breach, and CEO Anne Wojcicki’s failed privatization push. Now, creditors are circling, and the big question hits: What happens to your DNA when the company collapses?

In bankruptcy, assets like 23andMe’s DNA stash – its juiciest prize – could be sold off. Experts say the rules are fuzzy: your privacy might not survive the fire sale. When RadioShack went bankrupt in 2015, customer data was nearly auctioned off to the highest bidder – imagine that scenario with your genetic blueprint. California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta says delete your data now, but for millions, it’s too late – copies could already be out there.

The Unique Value of Genetic Data

Your DNA isn’t just info – it’s you: your roots, your health risks, quirks tied to your family. 23andMe sold it as a fun game – 2% Viking, maybe a coffee allergy – but the reality’s way bigger. You can’t change it like a password or cancel it like a card. It’s permanent, spilling secrets you might not even know.

That’s why deals with drug giants like GlaxoSmithKline, worth millions, were a goldmine – pharma loves this stuff. Personally, I’d never trust them with my genes, but so many people just don’t blink at this sort of thing. When 23andMe flops, your DNA’s left hanging.

From Cookies to Chromosomes: Breaches and Targeting Risks

In 2023, hackers grabbed 6.9 million 23andMe users’ data – emails, passwords, DNA – over five months. No quick fix here; it’s exposed forever. It’s not a one-off: DNA Diagnostics Center leaked thousands of files in 2021 thanks to weak security. No evil genius required – just overworked engineers, slashed security budgets, or determined hackers who find the weakness in every system.

Online ads guess you’re a dog lover from your clicks. Now imagine something scanning your DNA to find your weak spots – like Facebook ads, but for your biology. It’s not just selling sneakers; a tailored germ could target your exact genetic makeup. Straight out of a sci-fi horror flick, but way too real. The risk here isn’t just identity theft or financial fraud – it’s potentially targeted biological attacks that could exploit your unique genetic vulnerabilities or those of your entire family line.

At the 2022 Aspen Security Forum, Congressman Jason Crow warned: “Weapons are being built to hit specific people… grab their DNA, their health profile, and make a germ to kill them or bench them.” He called out 23andMe: “You spit in a cup, and a company owns your DNA – sold off with barely any rules.”

Is this just paranoia? Recent events suggest otherwise. When RFK Jr. claimed that COVID-19 might have been ethnically targeted, he drew harsh criticism, with many labeling it conspiracy thinking. When he noted that Ashkenazi Jews appeared less affected, he even faced accusations of anti-Semitism. However, the technical capability to engineer pathogens with ethnic selectivity exists – CRISPR and synthetic biology make it theoretically possible, which is what makes these discussions both necessary and uncomfortable.

Ads know what products you want; DNA targeting could identify how to harm you. Efrat Fenigson puts it bluntly: “Bioengineering’s tracking tech is evolving like ads did – only way creepier.” She also warned when Netanyahu announced Israel’s genetic database plans: “Digitized personal medical records of Israelis are already handed to Pfizer on a silver plate. Now Bibi is adding a GENETIC DATABASE, trading our genome.” Netanyahu wasn’t subtle about it: “We have a database, 98% of our population has digitized medical records… I intend to bring on that database of personal medical records for entire population a genetic database… give me a saliva sample… now we have a genetic record on a medical record of a robust population… let pharma companies run algorithms on this database.” This isn’t a bad sci-fi movie – it’s happening now.

Following the Money: Who Owns Your Blueprint?

While 23andMe sinks, Blackstone acquired Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion in 2020. The risks were screaming back then – pharma ties, private equity swooping in – but most people don’t track the players – or even seem to care.

Without even having to get too conspiratorial (though I’d bet this was a ruse from the start (especially if you consider the players including Wojcicki, pharma, and Wall Street), the red flags were there. Wojcicki, upon filing for bankruptcy, had the gall to say: “Our foundation was the trust and respect of our customers… I remain committed to our long-term vision of being a global leader in genetics” Trust? While 15 million DNA samples dangle in limbo? Sounds more like a data grab dressed as science – especially when she’d bragged that 85% of users opt into research, as if that made it noble.

This disconnect between public statements and business realities hasn’t gone unnoticed by experts. Dr. Jack Kruse, a biophysicist and neurosurgeon critical of genetic testing firms, has been ringing the alarm bells for years, warning that these companies are exploiting our biological data while downplaying the crucial role of mitochondrial DNA in our health. As he bluntly puts it, “Big Tech globalists are specialists in biological shitcoinery.”

Two giant DNA banks now sit under shaky firms or Wall Street titans. Data’s “the new oil,” but DNA’s oil, gold, and dynamite in one. Today’s owners *might* be fine – but what if a firm with lax ethics or a foreign government bids next? If 23andMe’s database is sold during bankruptcy, who’s next in line for your genetic code?

California’s Genetic Information Privacy Act lets you hit delete, but most states don’t care. Federal GINA stops job or insurance bias – not leaks or sales. We need real armor: demand consent for every use, secure your right to deletion, define who owns your DNA, and expose who’s accessing it.

Reclaim Your Biological Sovereignty

23andMe users: move quick – delete your data if your state allows. Tempted to test? Weigh that ancestry pie chart against strangers holding your DNA. Ask: Who owns it once I send it? What if they crash or cash out?

Kruse nailed it last November, 2024: “Anne is running a biological Ponzi scheme.” He explains: “Science has shown there is not much anyone can do with DNA data on their own, other than make Ponzi schemes investing into stupid things like 23andMe, and other HARPA companies then pumping and dumping the stock.”

Your DNA will be your data’ was sold as progress by technocrats, but was always a warning sign for those paying attention. This isn’t isolated- it’s part of a broader technocratic agenda I’ve written about before. Research may have benefits, but without ironclad protections, your DNA treasure could become someone else’s jackpot. We all need to inform ourselves about these risks before surrendering our most personal data. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.