When Your Genes Go to Market

23andMe, the widely known DNA testing company, has found itself in a financial pickle and declared bankruptcy. In response, attorneys general across the land are waving red flags, urging folks to delete their genetic data before it ends up in the hands of someone with fewer scruples than a coyote in a henhouse.

Nevada’s own AG, Aaron Ford, is among them, calling on Nevadans to exercise a little frontier wisdom and wipe their information from the company’s records. And before anyone faints from alarm, it must be said the bankruptcy itself has not compromised private genetic data—at least not yet.

The concern is that 23andMe, now desperate to find a buyer, holds an Aladdin’s cave of genetic secrets, and whoever comes by with a bag of gold may very well end up owning it all. The company insists it remains committed to customer privacy and that any buyer must adhere to the law, but AG Ford ain’t feeling charitable enough to take them at their word.

As such, his office issued an alert advising Nevadans to consider deleting their genetic information before it ends up traded like poker chips at a saloon.

“I urge Nevadans to access their accounts on 23andMe’s website and consider deleting their shared genetic data in order to ensure their privacy,” said Ford, like a preacher pounding the pulpit. “23andMe has indicated they will continue to honor such actions, and users should make use of this option as soon as possible.”

For its part, 23andMe insists all is well. In an open letter to customers, the company declared that data remains protected, access is unchanged, and business is continuing as usual—hardly the sort of thing one expects to hear from an outfit in dire financial straits.

But if history has taught us anything, a company in a bad way tends to make promises as solid as a sandcastle at high tide.

For those wary of their DNA becoming a bargaining chip in corporate dealings–you can cut ties. You can log in, fiddle with some settings, and request your DNA sample get destroyed or your account permanently deleted.

Ford also points out that destroying your sample prevents it from being used in research, a wise move for those who don’t fancy their genetic blueprint lingering in limbo. Meanwhile, the AG’s office is keeping a sharp eye on 23andMe’s handling of consumer data as the bankruptcy process unfolds, prepared to step in if necessary.

Until then, Nevadans might do well to take a lesson from the Old West—when in doubt, don’t leave your valuables lying around for the wrong folks to find.