Claim: Genetic testing company 23andMe sold users' data to the Chinese government. Rating: About this rating Originated as SatireIn May 2024, a rumor spread that genetic testing company 23andMe – which provides information on ancestry and health variants with the use of a sample of saliva – sold users' data to the Chinese government. The claim that 23andMe sold users' data to the Chinese government largely spread via a screenshot of an article featured on Medium, an online publishing platform. However, shortly after the publishing of the article on Medium, an article [archived here] in the Washington Post detailed a new Biden order that would "stem flow of Americans' sensitive data to China," including genetic data. On the 23andMe website, the company's privacy policy specifies that it "will not share your genetic data with employers, insurance companies, public databases or 3rd party marketers without your explicit consent."

Source: Washington Post May 16, 2024 23:55 UTC