California Settles 23andMe Data Breach Claims for $6 Million

3-line summary

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said Monday the state will receive $6 million from bankrupt 23andMe to resolve state legal claims tied to the company's 2023 data breach, which exposed the genetic and other personal information of 6.9 million customers, including more than 855,000 California residents; the state alleged violations of California's Genetic Information Privacy Act, arguing consumers had not explicitly consented to the asset sale.
• 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 amid falling demand and legal fallout from the breach, selling its business through auction for $305 million to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit controlled by co-founder Anne Wojcicki; separately, 23andMe agreed in bankruptcy proceedings to pay $46.75 million to victims of the 2023 breach.
• The bankruptcy court had rejected California's objection to the sale and barred the state from suing the successor company; after losing an appeal in federal district court, California agreed to drop further appeals as part of the settlement. Bonta emphasized that consumers can still delete their genetic information.

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