Genetic testing firm 1Health.io has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for leaving genetic and health data unsecured. The FTC also charged the firm for deceiving consumers about their ability to get their data deleted, and changed its privacy policy retroactively without adequately notifying and obtaining consent from consumers whose data the company had already collected.
As part of a proposed settlement with the FTC, 1Health will be required to strengthen protections for genetic information and instruct third-party contract laboratories to destroy all consumer DNA samples that have been retained for more than 180 days.