Photo: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
It was hacked, its share price plunged and the board quit after accusing the CEO of failing to find a way to stem financial woes.
Now genetic testing company 23andme has laid off more than 40 percent of its workforce and abandoned plans to work on developing gene therapies. For the 14 million people who submitted their DNA in the hope of discovering more about themselves - their health risks, ancestry and even inherited traits - the company's precarious situation is concerning.
Many of those customers included Kiwis. If 23andme goes under - is their data deleted? If the company's sold - is their DNA owned by somebody else? The company has promised to uphold privacy protections - but what does that mean, in effect?
Kathryn is joined by Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster, who's been keeping across this issue.
