Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
This bill, the "Don't Sell My DNA Act," amends the Bankruptcy Code (title 11) to treat genetic information (as defined by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008) as specially protected personal information in bankruptcy cases. It prevents approval of a sale, lease, or use of genetic information from a bankruptcy estate unless each person whose genetic information would be affected has affirmatively consented in writing after the case began, and it requires actual prior written notice to each such person.
Privacy vs. creditor/estate value: liberals emphasize protection of individuals' genetic privacy, conservatives emphasize trustees' ability to liquidate estate assets and creditor recoveries.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a targeted substantive amendment to the Bankruptcy Code that clearly inserts protections for genetic information into identified statutory provisions and assigns responsibilities to courts and trustees.
This bill, the "Don't Sell My DNA Act," amends the Bankruptcy Code (title 11) to treat genetic information (as defined by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008) as specially protected personal information in bankruptcy cases.
It prevents approval of a sale, lease, or use of genetic information from a bankruptcy estate unless each person whose genetic information would be affected has affirmatively consented in writing after the case began, and it requires actual prior written notice to each such person.
The bill also requires trustees or debtors in possession to delete genetic information that was property of the estate and was not sold or otherwise disposed of, using court‑prescribed sanitization methods (with NIST SP 800-88 as an example).
Content-wise the bill is a narrow, administrable privacy protection that could win support from consumer-privacy advocates and some industry actors, and it references technical standards for implementation—factors that favor enactment. Countervailing pressures include creditor and bankruptcy-practitioner concerns about impaired asset realizations, the retroactive application to pending cases, and the potential for procedural hurdles in the Senate. Overall, based solely on the bill text and common legislative dynamics, it has a better-than-even chance but faces identifiable political and legal frictions.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a targeted substantive amendment to the Bankruptcy Code that clearly inserts protections for genetic information into identified statutory provisions and assigns responsibilities to courts and trustees. The bill specifies several concrete prohibitions and obligations and references established definitions and technical guidance.
Privacy vs. creditor/estate value: liberals emphasize protection of individuals' genetic privacy, conservatives emphasize trustees' ability to liquidate estate assets and creditor recoveries.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Privacy vs. creditor/estate value: liberals emphasize protection of individuals' genetic privacy, conservatives emphasize trustees' ability to liquidate estate assets and creditor recoveries.
A liberal or progressive observer would likely view the bill positively as a targeted privacy protection that prevents the commercial sale of highly sensitive genetic information in bankruptcy proceedings.
They would see it as closing a legal gap that might otherwise allow DNA data to be monetized without meaningful consent, with implications for discrimination and family privacy.
They may note the bill is narrowly tailored to genetic data and includes concrete procedural protections (notice, deletion).
A centrist/ moderate would generally regard the bill as a reasonable privacy protection but would have practical reservations about administrative burdens and effects on estate value and creditors.
They would weigh the public interest in protecting sensitive genetic data against the need for predictable, efficient bankruptcy estate administration.
Centrists would likely seek clarifications about the notice and consent mechanics, possible exceptions, and whether deletion requirements impose undue costs on trustees.
A mainstream conservative would likely be skeptical of the bill because it constrains the bankruptcy process, limits the ability of trustees to realize value from estate assets, and expands federal regulation of property in bankruptcy.
They would emphasize property and creditor rights, administrative burdens on trustees and courts, and potential negative effects on creditor recoveries.
Conservatives would also be concerned about possible preemption of private contracts and state law and might frame the measure as an unnecessary encroachment on the efficient functioning of bankruptcy proceedings.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Content-wise the bill is a narrow, administrable privacy protection that could win support from consumer-privacy advocates and some industry actors, and it references technical standards for implementation—factors that favor enactment. Countervailing pressures include creditor and bankruptcy-practitioner concerns about impaired asset realizations, the retroactive application to pending cases, and the potential for procedural hurdles in the Senate. Overall, based solely on the bill text and common legislative dynamics, it has a better-than-even chance but faces identifiable political and legal frictions.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Privacy vs. creditor/estate value: liberals emphasize protection of individuals' genetic privacy, conservatives emphasize trustees' ability…
Content-wise the bill is a narrow, administrable privacy protection that could win support from consumer-privacy advocates and some industr…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a targeted substantive amendment to the Bankruptcy Code that clearly inserts protections for genetic information into identified statutory provisions and assigns r…
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