Taken from 23andMe’s website, https://www.23andme.com/

On March 24, 2025, biotechnology company 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, meaning while they will maintain control of their company, all of the data they’ve collected is likely up for grabs. This turn of events has led to abundant privacy concerns among customers as anyone who purchases the company’s assets will have access to its millions of DNA samples and could potentially use it for unethical means. Although 23andMe is currently an extreme case, students should view its collapse as a wake-up call about how vulnerable their data really is.

To understand the gravity of the situation, it’s important to analyze 23andMe’s explosive rise and equally explosive fall. 23andMe was founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki, Linda Avey, and Paul Cusenza. At the time of its creation, the company introduced a fairly unheard-of business model: selling consumer-use DNA tests for ancestry and health insights. Although it was not the first of its kind, 23andMe revolutionized commercial DNA testing and quickly grew in popularity, leading to over 15 million users worldwide. Despite some concerns about security and accuracy, the company was massively successful and collected extensive useful data in its practices.

There are two main causes of 23andMe’s collapse. First, the industry has become less and less economical as competition rises and demand drops, leading to a gradual decline in revenue. Second and more critically, 23andMe suffered a massive data breach in 2023 when cybercriminals stole the personal data of almost seven million of its customers. This event later led to a class-action lawsuit in which the company paid out $30 million to affected customers, resulting in a decline in both reputation and funding. In light of this catastrophe, 23andMe’s failure to properly secure such sensitive data should alarm not only its customers but anyone using their information online.

But how does this connect to students? As technology becomes more integrated into education, students are frequently required to input their information into websites and applications as part of assignments. While online resources are generally safe and useful, the problem arises when breaches similar to the 23andMe breach occur. If a company that previously boasted complete privacy can suffer from a large compromise, there’s no guarantee that everyday websites will have any more success in keeping data secure. Worse yet, even beyond cybercriminals, the websites that students use often sell their information to advertisers, potentially harming privacy further. This is important because information of children is not only more sensitive, but more valuable to corporations as it can be tracked across a lifetime and has fewer inconsistencies.

This collapse should be a cautionary tale for all internet users, especially students. 23andMe serves as a reminder that even trusted companies mishandle information and fail to properly protect their users’ privacy. This risk is magnified for students, who are more susceptible to privacy breaches and data farming, or the mass collection of data to sell to advertisers. This situation also shows that while technology can provide many benefits, tech companies need to be overseen more thoroughly in order to minimize threats in the industry and avoid repeating 23andMe’s mistakes. Students, tech providers, and government regulators alike should demand higher standards of security in technology before another breach causes more harm.