FTC Refunds Customers of DNA Testing Firm Over Data, Security Issues

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday that it is distributing more than $49,500 in refunds to customers of the genetic testing company 1Health.io, formerly known as Vitagene, following a settlement reached last year over allegations that the company failed to secure sensitive genetic and health data. The FTC’s June 2023 complaint alleged that the San Francisco-based company lied to consumers about their ability to delete their personal data, and changed its privacy policy without notifying consumers. In the complaint, the FTC alleged that 1Health stored nearly 2,400 health reports of at least 227 consumers on Amazon Web Service’s cloud storage service, which is publicly accessible, despite promising consumers “rock-solid” security practices....