LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan is getting $436,605 from the wreckage of 23andMe’s bankruptcy after a massive data breach exposed information belonging to millions of customers – including nearly 163,000 Michiganders.
23andMe blamed customers after 2023 breach exposed sensitive data.
The 2023 breach affected 6.9 million consumers worldwide and exposed personal information that, in some cases, included genetic ancestry data. Some of that information later reportedly showed up for sale on the dark web.
According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a multistate investigation found that 23andMe failed to use adequate security measures, including protections against known compromised passwords, proper monitoring and tools that could have detected suspicious login activity.
The company initially denied it had suffered a breach and later blamed customers for their password practices.
Michigan gets its cut as 23andMe’s genetic data changes hands.
Michigan joined 41 other states and the District of Columbia in pursuing claims against 23andMe, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2025. The settlement allows $150 million in state claims, but because bankruptcy math has a way of making large numbers disappear, only $18 million is available for immediate recovery. Michigan’s share is $436,605.
Separately, 23andMe agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement for affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims before the deadline earlier this year.
The company’s assets – including its massive collection of consumer genetic data – have since been sold to a nonprofit formed by 23andMe founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki, with new privacy and security requirements.
The multistate settlement delivers some financial accountability for one of the largest genetic data breaches in history. When asked what the money would be used for, the AG’s Press Secretary Danny Wimmer said, “Financial sums ordered to the State of Michigan, such as damages, fines, and enforcement costs, are deposited into the Lawsuit Proceeds Settlement Fund. The Michigan Department of Attorney General may draw operational costs from that fund, though only up to a specified statutory limit, and the remaining funds each fiscal year then lapse into the State general fund.”
