To amend title 11, United States Code, to account for the protection of genetic information in bankruptcy.
Sponsors
Ben Cline
R-VA | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Cline (for himself and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends federal bankruptcy law (Title 11, U.S. Code) to specifically protect genetic information when companies that hold such data go bankrupt. It addresses scenarios like the 23andMe bankruptcy where customer DNA data could potentially be sold to the highest bidder.
Who Benefits and How
Consumers/Individuals who have provided genetic data:
- Their genetic information cannot be sold or transferred in bankruptcy without their explicit written consent
- They must receive actual prior written notice before any use, sale, or lease of their genetic information
- Unsold genetic data must be securely deleted using NIST-approved methods
Privacy advocates and public interest:
- Establishes strong precedent that genetic data receives special protection in commercial transactions
- Prevents genetic data from becoming just another asset to liquidate
Who Bears the Burden and How
Bankruptcy trustees and debtors in possession:
- Must obtain affirmative consent from all affected individuals before selling genetic data
- Must provide written notice for any proposed use, sale, or lease
- Must securely delete genetic data that is not sold using court-prescribed methods (following NIST standards)
- Additional administrative burden and compliance costs
Genetic testing companies in bankruptcy:
- Reduced asset value since genetic data cannot be freely sold
- More complex bankruptcy proceedings
Potential acquirers of genetic testing companies:
- Cannot acquire genetic data without obtaining consent from data subjects
- May reduce interest in acquiring such companies
Key Provisions
- Expands definition of personally identifiable information (PII) to explicitly include genetic information as defined in GINA (42 U.S.C. 2000ff)
- Consent requirement: Prohibits approval of genetic data sales/leases unless all affected persons have affirmatively consented in writing after case commencement
- Notice requirement: Any use, sale, or lease of genetic information is invalid without actual prior written notice to each affected person
- Deletion mandate: Trustees must delete unsold genetic data using NIST Special Publication 800-88 guidelines
- Immediate effect: Applies to pending cases and new/reopened cases after enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Protects genetic information from being sold during bankruptcy proceedings by amending title 11 of the United States Code to require consent for transfers and mandate deletion of unsold genetic data.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Leverages existing bankruptcy consumer protection framework (section 363 PII protections) to address emerging privacy concerns around genetic data. Timed in response to high-profile genetic testing company bankruptcies."
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "regulator"
- → Bankruptcy courts
- "regulated_entity"
- → Debtors, bankruptcy trustees
- "regulator"
- → Bankruptcy courts
- "affected_party"
- → Individuals whose genetic data is held
- "regulated_entity"
- → Bankruptcy trustees, debtors in possession
- "regulator"
- → Bankruptcy courts
- "regulated_entity"
- → Trustees and debtors in possession
- "implementing_agency"
- → NIST (standards reference)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology