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Reuters reported on Friday that genetic testing company 23andMe has agreed to pay $30 million in compensation after a hack exposed the personal information of 6.9 million customers on the dark web. The company will also pay for security monitoring of affected customers for three years.
The class action lawsuit alleges that 23andMe failed to warn customers of Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese descent that their personal information was for sale and that they may have been specifically targeted in the April 2023 data theft.
Related: 23andMe hackers sell stolen user data, including DNA profiles of ‘celebrities’, on the dark web
According to Reuters, 23andMe said in a court document that the settlement was “fair, reasonable and equitable.”
In a December 2023 blog post addressing the hack, the company said the attack began in April 2023 and lasted about five months. At the time, 23andMe had about 14.1 million customers on its system. The company said the hack affected at least half of its database.
Who is entitled to money?
According to court documents, affected users can seek between $100 and $10,000 in the most “extraordinary” cases. If the settlement is ultimately approved, instructions on how to request the refund will be provided.
Customers in Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon are subject to “genetic privacy laws with statutory damages provisions,” according to PCMag, and can only claim $100.
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