Just one day after a coalition of nearly 20 states blessed TTAM Research Institute's agreement to acquire 23andMe and its data (see 2506180018), a court document filed Thursday shows nine more states joined in support. The group of now 27 states argued that genetic data isn't moving to a third party, since TTAM isn't strictly an outsider. TTAM's chief, Anne Wojcicki, founded 23andMe and is its former CEO.
A federal court on Wednesday declined to block a Tennessee law requiring that social media companies verify the age of account holders and gain parental consent from users younger than 18 before they can open accounts.
The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld Daniel’s Law in a decision Tuesday, rejecting a journalist’s First Amendment challenge to the statute that aims to protect certain public officials' personal information.
A bipartisan coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia on Wednesday gave their approval of TTAM Research Institute's agreement to acquire 23andMe and its data. The group argued in a court filing that TTAM isn't really a third party since its chief, Anne Wojcicki, is 23andMe's founder and former CEO. Even still, some states continued to object to the $305 million sale of the bankrupt biotech company despite TTAM's pledge to adopt additional data privacy protections in response to concerns (see 2506160045).
A tech industry group on Friday ruled out the possibility that a rulemaking would alleviate its concerns with Vermont’s new age-appropriate design code law. Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed S-69 on Thursday (see 2506120094) despite vetoing a similar proposal last year. Businesses of all sizes will have to comply with the Vermont AADC or potentially face AG enforcement or lawsuits from individuals via a private right of action in the state's existing consumer protection law.
The Nebraska attorney general filed a lawsuit against online marketplace Temu on Thursday, alleging privacy and consumer protection violations. The state seeks to stop Temu from collecting, maintaining and using consumers' personally identifiable information (PII).
The Consumer Privacy Ombudsman (CPO)'s report on the 23andMe bankruptcy case recommends requiring separate, affirmative consent from consumers for the sale of genetic data before a sale of the company occurs. Neil Richards, appointed CPO on May 6, also recommended posthumous data safeguards and guaranteed duty of loyalty, among other suggestions, in the 211-page document filed Wednesday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Missouri.
Vermont will have an age-appropriate design code (AADC) law. Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed S-69, based on an Assembly bill by Rep. Monique Priestley (D), on Thursday, his office said.
23andMe defended its planned sale in a statement to us Tuesday, decrying a lawsuit and separate objection filed Monday by a bipartisan group of nearly 30 state attorneys general. The AGs opposed the proposed sale of collected genetic information without each customer's consent. Founder Anne Wojcicki and interim CEO Joe Selsavage defended the company's privacy practices during a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday.
The actual cost to a company from a privacy enforcement action could be many times higher than the regulator's fine, Clarip CEO Andy Sambandam said in an interview. Privacy has become a quickly rising concern for companies amid a growing number of privacy laws and state enforcement actions, he told Privacy Daily.