December 09, 2021
Back

New Florida Genetic Privacy Law Imposes Criminal Penalties | Daily Business Review - Law.com

Aldo Leiva, Of counsel, Baker Donelson, Fort Lauderdale,
Aldo Leiva, Of counsel, Baker Donelson, Fort Lauderdale,

Florida’s Protecting DNA Privacy Act (the DNA Privacy Act)), a new law strengthening Florida’s existing genetic privacy law ((Fla. Stat. section 760.40) to impose new criminal penalties, became effective on Oct. 1. In adopting this tougher stance on genetic privacy protections, Florida joins other states with similar laws, including Utah, Arizona and California, which also focus on the privacy practices of direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies.

As DNA sequencing technology has advanced in sophistication while also becoming less expensive, direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years. However, consumers who entrust their unique and personal genetic information to such companies, who may in turn share such information with third parties or even public databases, may face potential legal risks in regard to their identity and privacy rights. While federal laws such as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulate the use and sharing of genetic information, such laws do not apply to commercial direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies.

Want to continue reading?
Become an ALM Digital Reader for Free!

  • Free access to 1 article* every 30 days
  • Access to the entire ALM network of websites
  • Unlimited access to the ALM suite of newsletters
  • Build custom alerts on any search topic of your choosing
  • Search by a wide range of topics

Already have an account? Sign In Now

Click here to access the Public Notices and the Courts sections of the The Daily Business Review in PDF format.



source: https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2021/12/09/new-florida-genetic-privacy-law-imposes-criminal-penalties/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.