Lawmakers Move To Protect Your DNA After 23andMe Bankruptcy

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was named the winning bidder in the court-supervised sale of 23andMe, granting it eventual access to a gigantic pool of genetic data from an estimated 15 million individuals. The deal has raised alarm bells in Washington, DC, prompting bipartisan lawmakers to introduce a bill that would strengthen protections for genetic data during bankruptcy proceedings. 

Fox News has learned that Republican Senators John Cornyn and Chuck Grassley, along with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, are preparing to introduce the Don’t Sell My DNA Act, a bipartisan measure to protect consumers’ sensitive genetic data. The bill comes just days after renewed privacy concerns surrounding 23andMe.  

Prompted by 23andMe’s recent bankruptcy and court-supervised $256 million asset sale to Regeneron, the new bill would:

• Add genetic data to the definition of “personally identifiable information” (PII) in the bankruptcy code.

• Require explicit consumer consent before genetic data can be sold or leased during bankruptcy.

• Mandate prior written notice of any use or sale of such data.

Senate aides provided Fox News with additional details on the bill’s new safeguards: 

Under current law, the bankruptcy code provides protections for personally identifiable information in bankruptcy court proceedings to prevent the possibility of identity theft, harm or other unlawful injury.

The current definition of personally identifiable information includes an individual’s name, address, email, phone number, Social Security number, credit card numbers and other information that could be used for identification purposes.

Those aides said the definition is “outdated” and does not include a reference to genetic information, leaving the information vulnerable.

“This legislation would solve this problem by updating the definition of ‘personally identifiable information’ in the bankruptcy code to include genetic information,” a Senate aide said.

Cornyn stated, “By updating the bankruptcy code, this legislation would safeguard Americans’ sensitive genetic information to ensure it cannot be weaponized against them or made public without their knowledge and consent.” 

The takeaway for consumers is super obvious: think twice before handing over your sensitive genetic data to a company, as there’s always a risk it could be stored, sold, or even weaponized against you in the future.