{"id":2417338,"date":"2025-03-28T18:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T22:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republican-warns-bad-actors-could-buy-23andme-data-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T18:32:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T22:32:24","slug":"house-republican-warns-bad-actors-could-buy-23andme-data-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republican-warns-bad-actors-could-buy-23andme-data-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"House Republican warns &#8216;bad actors&#8217; could buy 23andMe data &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-republican-warns-bad-actors-could-buy-23andme-data-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2417338&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) has expressed concerns regarding the potential risks associated with the sale of genetic data from the biotechnology company 23andMe, which has recently declared bankruptcy. In letters addressed to the Trump management and 23andMe, Bice emphasizes the need for vigilance to ensure that Americans&#8217; genetic facts does not fall into the hands of &#8220;bad actors,&#8221; particularly companies linked to countries that may threaten U.S. national security, like China. She warns that genetic data is a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-owns-america-the-unexpected-battlefront-in-the-trump-desantis-2024-war\/\" title=\"Who owns America: The unexpected battlefront in the Trump...DeSantis 2024 war\">strategic national asset<\/a>&#8221; and coudl be weaponized if mismanaged. With 23andMe\u2019s bankruptcy, there are calls for customers to delete their accounts to protect their data, urging the administration to take necessary actions to prevent any compromise of sensitive information. bice&#8217;s efforts highlight the intersection of health data privacy and national security in the context of corporate acquisitions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">House Republican warns 23andMe and Trump administration to keep genetic data out of hands of &lsquo;bad actors&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2073732\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;&nbsp;<\/strong>Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) is asking the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Trump administration\">Trump administration<\/a> to monitor the selling of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/genetics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"genetic data\">genetic data<\/a> by the recently bankrupted biotechnology company 23andme to ensure that Americans&rsquo; information does not fall into the hands of &ldquo;bad actors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Oklahoma <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republican\">Republican<\/a> is sending two letters, one to the Trump administration and one to the biotechnology company, to raise alarm bells about the possible national security risk selling the information poses in the event the data is sold to &ldquo;companies headquartered in or with ties to countries hostile to American national interests.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-features\/3360636\/democrats-face-uphill-battle-retake-senate-unforgiving-map\/\">Democrats face uphill battle to retake Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3361258\/arizona-secretary-of-state-rules-out-run-for-open-house-seat-adelita-grijalva\/\">Arizona secretary of state rules out run for open House seat, opening door for Grijalva&rsquo;s daughter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3360956\/dnc-chairman-ken-martin-campaign-florida-special-election-randy-fine-josh-weil\/\">DNC chairman to campaign in Florida ahead of closer-than-expected special election<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;DNA holds important details of your past, present, and potential future. For years, China has collected healthcare data from both the U.S. and nations across the globe, and the [Chinese Communist Party] understands the importance of accessing genomic data,&rdquo; Bice told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;There are serious concerns over how the genetic data of millions of Americans will be treated as part of the bankruptcy of 23andMe. It is imperative that the personal information of Americans does not fall into the hands of our foreign adversaries.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">23andMe, which provided direct-to-consumer genetic sequencing to 15 million customers,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/3357235\/23andme-stocks-plunge-bankruptcy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">declared bankruptcy<\/a>&nbsp;on Sunday. The struggling company said it would pursue a sale to t<\/span>he <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.23andme.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/23andme-initiates-voluntary-chapter-11-process-maximize\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">highest bidder<\/a>. Consumer advocates have advised customers who signed up for the genetic testing service to request the deletion of their accounts&nbsp;to keep their data safe.<\/p>\n<p>Though the company was popular a few years back, it struggled to find recurring revenue because buyers only needed one kit to enter the global database.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bice&rsquo;s letter to the Trump administration, addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asks the agency leaders to &ldquo;monitor this situation and do anything within your scope to prevent Americans&rsquo; genetic data from getting into the hands of bad actors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The company&rsquo;s former CEO, Anne Wojcicki, stepped down earlier this month. Wojcicki posted on X that she is &ldquo;disappointed that we have come to this conclusion and my bid was rejected,&rdquo; stating that she hoped to buy the company.<\/p>\n<p>The California biotech company is allowing customers to delete their accounts, genetic data holding, and saliva samples. However, some data must be maintained even after the account has been deleted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While the decision to declare bankruptcy is yours to make, handling the genetic data you are stewards of should be done carefully,&rdquo; Bice wrote in her letter to 23andMe&rsquo;s interim CEO, Joeseph&nbsp;Selsavage. &ldquo;The data that you are in possession of, if given to the wrong entity, could make you and your shareholders complicit in undermining the health and well-being of your customers and your fellow American citizens.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While the company claims customer data is safe now, the new owner could implement big changes in how the data is handled. Many state attorneys general have urged people to delete their data now, providing a step-by-step<a href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-urgently-issues-consumer-alert-23andme-customers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> process<\/a> for doing so. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D-NC) posted this process to his booming social media.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bice claimed biological data to be a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">strategic national asset&#038;rdquo<\/a>; while warning that this data falling into the wrong hands &mdash; specifically China &mdash; could pose a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/serious-concerns-gop-leaders-demand-answers-over-russians-illegally-crossing-americas-southern-border\/\" title=\"\u2018Serious Concerns\u2019: GOP Leaders Demand Answers Over Russians Illegally Crossing America\u2019s Southern Border\">significant national security threat<\/a> that could put Americans&rsquo; genetic data at risk of being &ldquo;weaponized.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/3359894\/dollar-tree-selling-family-dollar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>DOLLAR TREE SELLING OF FAMILY DOLLAR CHAIN AMID &lsquo;MULTIYEAR TRANSFORMATION&rsquo;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I believe selling the data from roughly 15 million individuals may pose a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-twitter-contributed-to-david-frenchs-destruction-of-his-own-character\/\" title=\"How Twitter Contributed To David French\u2019s Destruction Of His Own Character\">potential national security threat<\/a> if 23andMe sells to companies headquartered in or with ties to countries hostile to American national interests,&rdquo; Bice wrote in the letter to three departments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and the Treasury did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2073732\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2073732\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Bice urges Trump administration to safeguard 23andMe&#8217;s genetic data from misuse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2417339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bice.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[52445,45233,36691,32920,32076],"class_list":["post-2417338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-23andme","tag-bad-actors","tag-data-privacy","tag-house-republicans","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bice.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2417338"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2417342,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417338\/revisions\/2417342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2417339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2417338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2417338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2417338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}