23andMe settles data breach lawsuit for 30 million

pAdvertisementppFor premium support please callppFor premium support please callppBy Jonathan StempelppReuters 23andMe will pay 30 million and provide three years of security monitoring to settle a lawsuit accusing the genetics testing company of failing to protect the privacy of 69 million customers whose personal information was exposed in a data breach last yearppThe accord also resolves accusations that 23andMe did not tell customers with Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that the hacker appeared to have specifically targeted them and posted their information for sale on the dark webppA preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed late Thursday night in federal court in San Francisco and requires a judges approvalppIt includes cash payments for customers whose data was compromised and lets customers enroll for three years in a program known as Privacy Medical Shield Genetic MonitoringppIn a Friday court filing 23andMe called the settlement fair adequate and reasonableppCiting its extremely uncertain financial condition 23andMe also asked the judge to halt arbitrations by tens of thousands of class members until the settlement is approved or they decide not to participateppIn a statement 23andMe said it believes the settlement is in its customers best interest It also expects about 25 million of the cost to be covered by cyber insurance coverageppThe breach began around April 2023 and lasted about five months affecting nearly half of the 141 million customers in 23andMes database at the time It was disclosed by 23andMe in an October 2023 blog postppAccording to the company the hacker accessed 55 million DNA Relatives profiles which let customers share information with each other and accessed information for another 14 million customers who used a feature called Family TreeppLawyers for the plaintiffs said the settlement addressed their clients main claims and reflected significant risks of further litigation given 23andMes dire financesppThe South San Franciscobased company lost 694 million on revenue of 404 million in the quarter ending June 30ppCofounder and Chief Executive Anne Wojcicki has been trying to take 23andMe private three years after it went public at 10 per share Its shares have traded below 1 since midDecemberppThe plaintiffs lawyers may seek legal fees of up to 25 of the settlement amountppThe case is In re 23andMe Inc Customer Data Security Breach Litigation US District Court Northern District of California No 24md03098ppReporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York editing by Jonathan OatisppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAOLppAOLppAOLppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementppAdvertisementp