On CBS News, Professor Ikemoto Discusses Possible Risk to 23andMe Data

Professor Lisa Ikemoto appeared on the CBS Evening News on Nov. 12 to discuss the lack of genetic information protections for customers of struggling genealogy testing website 23andMe. The company laid off 40% of its work force recently.

As CBS reports, the company’s recent travails have worried customers about the fate of their DNA data. Since 23andMe is not a health care company, data uploaded by its customers is not protected by health privacy laws.

“It’s like any other form of digital data right now,” Ikemoto said in the news segment. “It’s vulnerable.”

Lisa Ikemoto, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, has written extensively on genetic and reproductive technology, the regulation of fertility and pregnancy, and race and gender disparities in health care. Her current work examines emerging issues in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research, and the human tissues market.