Update comes after news of a successful bid to purchase assets of 23andMe
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Diane McLeod, is writing a letter to the company that has made a successful bid to purchase 23andMe assets and is cautioning Albertans about privacy risks associated with the changes at 23andMe.
According to news reports, TTAM Research Institute (TTAM) has won the bid to purchase all the assets of 23andMe, including its genome assets. A federal U.S. bankruptcy court approved the sale last week. TTAM is a non-profit corporation based in California and led by 23andMe’s co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki.
A notice about the sale on 23andMe’s website states “TTAM is committed to providing customers with choice and transparency with their data, including the option to change their decision on whether to participate in research. To that end, all customers will be emailed in advance of the transaction closing with a notice of the sale. TTAM is committed to adhering to 23andMe’s existing privacy policies in perpetuity, and is adopting additional consumer protections and privacy safeguards to enhance protections for customer data and privacy”.
Albertans who have accounts with 23andMe should expect to receive a notification from TTAM about the pending deal and information about how it will protect the privacy of the personal information it acquired as part of the sale and how it intends to use this information for research purposes.
“I strongly encourage Albertans to carefully read the notice and information provided about these protections and uses of their personal information for research by TTAM,” said Commissioner McLeod. “If they are not satisfied, I encourage them to withdraw consent for any subsequent use. As indicated in my prior notification about the 23andMe bankruptcy, Albertans may request that TTAM delete their personal information.”
Commissioner McLeod is writing to TTAM to remind the company that any personal information, including genome information, collected in Alberta is subject to Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
Through the OIPC, the Information and Privacy Commissioner performs the responsibilities set out in Alberta’s access to information and privacy laws, the Access to Information Act, the Protection of Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act during the transition period, the Health Information Act, and the Personal Information Protection Act. The Commissioner operates independently of government.
For more information:
Elaine Schiman
communications@oipc.ab.ca
Communications Manager
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
Mobile: (587) 983-8766
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