23AndMe is a wake-up call on data sovereignty

Perhaps the move by the SEI Foundation (the organization behind the Layer 1 blockchain SEI) to buy the bankrupt genetic data company 23AndMe is a long shot at best and potentially just a promotional stunt. But it remains a very exciting idea and many people think about it.

If you have such a contract, you will see a web3 company rescue a web2 company. The Web2 technology giant is already being challenged in the AI ​​space by much smaller, more agile and more flexible companies. However, buying what was once one of Silicon Valley's most shiny stars at a blockchain startup is a complete paradigm shift.

Beyond that, transactions become a victory for public understanding for data security and privacy. We all vaguely recognize how Meta, Google, Apple and others adopt and use data, but we have chosen to ignore it for the convenience it gives us.

Then there was no such case as 23andMe, which holds DNA and other data for perhaps 15 million people. It shows the general public the vulnerability that their most personal and intimate data is left in the hands of central companies and organizations.

Facebook and Instagram track shopping and consumer habits, making sensitive messages and emails vulnerable to leaks. At 23andMe, we are talking about DNA data. The very structure of our human body was a green filling to be sold to the highest bidders.

If the SEI is not successful, this is most likely, then this data could be sold to a health or life insurance company. They could then use this data to potentially exclude people from critical health care or insurance, thanks to the suspicious way in which the US health care system is implemented and its discrimination policies are implemented.

Perhaps, at the end, this is a turning point where the public will seriously understand the importance of owning their data. Perhaps more people will realize that they have full control over themselves using decentralized blockchain technology to keep their data truly secure.

Of course, not all blockchains are created equal. However, SEI certainly argues that it is very secure, and projects like Arweave are permanent storage chains built on the “one store forever Pay One Store” model, but have applications that allow you to upload and store data personally, securely and permanently.

These are two in our ever-growing list of options in our industry, but the point is this. There is no centralized solution beyond the portion of the paper stored in Switzerland security deposit boxes, or beyond the portion of the paper with keys embedded in the ground that can be compared. And even then, someone can dig those keys.

This is a fork moment for people to understand the importance of self-emphasis on data. And that comes when centralized organisations, businesses, and even governments are falling apart. So the sale of 23andMe could mark a true turning point in history and what can be reconstructed how Web3 is viewed, understood and used.