CALIFORNIA — A California bankruptcy court judge ordered Chrome Holding to pay $46.75 million in compensation to victims affected by the 2023 23andMe data breach. Chrome Holding acquired control of 23andMe after the company filed for bankruptcy early last year.

The settlement funds are to be paid to Kroll Restructuring within five business days of the ruling. Kroll Restructuring represents the data breach victims and will be responsible for distributing the funds. Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, operates Chrome Holding, which also operates under the name TTAM Research Institute. Wojcicki secured 23andMe's assets in a bankruptcy auction last year with a bid of $305 million.

The 2023 hack on 23andMe reportedly exposed data for as many as 6.9 million people. Initially, hackers accessed approximately 14,000 user accounts. Beyond the recent ruling, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined 23andMe £2.31 million. The ICO attributed this fine to 23andMe's failure to implement adequate measures for securing sensitive user data before the incident.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against 23andMe in May following an investigation into the breach. Bonta's investigation concluded that 23andMe "failed to take basic steps to protect users' data." He also claimed that the company "lied to consumers about the severity of its 2023 data breach."

23andMe, which began operations in 2006 and went public in 2021, continues to offer DNA testing kits online. The company was once valued at $6 billion but has not reported a profit to date.