US senator asks 23andMe for details after reported data for sale online

FILE PHOTO: Attendees purchase DNA kits at the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. Senate's health committee has called on the chief executive of 23andMe to provide the panel with details after data from the family genetics website was advertised for sale on the dark web.

Senator Bill Cassidy, the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expressed concerns in a letter to CEO Anne Wojcicki, and asked for more information. A hacker advertised 23andMe data earlier this month, but 23andMe said in a statement that the company itself had not been breached.