Libbie Canter and Elizabeth Brim of Covington and Burling write:
On May 16, 2024, Alabama enacted a genetic privacy bill (HB 21), which regulates consumer-facing genetic testing companies. HB 21 continues the recent trend of states enacting genetic privacy legislation aimed at regulating direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) genetic testing companies, such as in Nebraska and Virginia, with more than 10 states now having similar laws on the books.
Scope of HB 21
HB 21 regulates “genetic testing companies’” practices involving “genetic data.” HB 21 defines a “genetic testing company” as “[a]ny person, other than a health care provider, that directly solicits a biological sample from a consumer for analysis in order to provide products or services to the consumer which include disclosure of information that may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- The genetic link of the consumer to certain population groups based on ethnicity, geography, or anthropology;
- The probable relationship of the consumer to other individuals based on matching DNA for purposes that include genealogical research; or
- Recommendations to the consumer for managing wellness which are based on physical or metabolic traits, lifestyle tendencies, or disease predispositions that are associated with genetic markers present in the consumer’s DNA.”
Read more at Inside Privacy.