Former 23andMe Owner Pays California $6 Million Over 2023 Genetic Data Breach

A holding company formerly known as 23andMe, now called Chrome Holding Company, has agreed to pay California $6 million to resolve allegations that it failed to effectively protect customers' personal and genetic data. The state says those failings enabled a massive 2023 breach that exposed sensitive information belonging to nearly 7 million people. The settlement still needs approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, it preserves consumers' right to delete their data and to have their genetic samples destroyed.

23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 and sold customers' saliva samples and genetic data to the TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit created by former founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki. She is also CEO of Chrome Holding Company. A TTAM spokesperson said the institute is independent, was not involved in the matters at issue and has no role in the settlement. The source notes that the breach dealt the final blow to a company already struggling as the genetic testing market shrank.

"Companies cannot evade California's consumer protection and privacy laws by filing for bankruptcy," Bonta said. The deal follows an $18 million settlement in July between 23andMe and a coalition of 42 other state attorneys general.