---
title: California settles with 23andMe's successor for $6.01M over the 2023 breach and the sale of genetic data in bankruptcy; residents can still demand deletion | ctxsec
url: https://ctxsec.com/items/california-ag-23andme-6m-settlement-breach-genetic-data
description: ""
status: "confirmed (California AG press release, Oct 19; bankruptcy court stipulation dated Oct 16); pending court approval"
published: 2026-10-24
---

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confirmed (California AG press release, Oct 19; bankruptcy court stipulation dated Oct 16); pending court approval

2026-10-24

### California settles with 23andMe's successor for $6.01M over the 2023 breach and the sale of genetic data in bankruptcy; residents can still demand deletion

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on **Oct 19** a settlement with Chrome Holding Co., formerly 23andMe, filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and **pending court approval**.

- **Amount:** a lump sum of $6,010,000 within 10 days of court approval. It can fund consumer relief for the 2023 breach, with any unused money going to California's consumer-protection enforcement fund.
- **Resolves:** California's state-court suit alleging unreasonable security and misleading statements that led to the 2023 breach, and its appeal over the sale of Californians' genetic data and samples without their affirmative consent.
- **Still in force:** under the Genetic Information Privacy Act, consumers can ask the buyer, 23andMe Research Institute, to delete their data, destroy their sample or withdraw research consent.

The 2023 credential-stuffing breach exposed data on about 6.9 million people (per Reuters).

Sources: [California AG: Bonta Secures $6 Million Settlement in 23andMe Litigation (Oct 19)](https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-secures-6-million-settlement-23andme-litigation) · [Joint stipulation (bankruptcy court filing)](https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/chrome-2760-joint-stipulation.pdf) · [Reuters via Investing.com (Oct 19)](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/california-settles-23andme-data-breach-claims-for-6-million-4958392)