About the Seminar

April 14, 2026 9:00am—10:30am

When 23andMe, a pioneer in direct-to-consumer genetic testing, filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, consumers, state and federal regulators, and policymakers were caught flatfooted over the fate of the sensitive genetic data of some 15 million Americans. As growing volumes of genetic—and increasingly full genomic—data are collected and stored by private firms, this episode underscores the likelihood that similar scenarios will recur across the biotechnology, health data, and digital health sectors. In this program, the speaker—an expert in bankruptcy law, regulatory enforcement, and data-related policy issues, with prior experience leading investigations into cybersecurity, privacy, and consumer protection violations—explains how data assets are treated under existing insolvency frameworks. He also assesses the current landscape of state protections and emerging federal policy responses governing genetic and health data collected by consumer testing companies. Our discussion will examine the governance gaps and consumer-protection challenges that arise when genetic databases are treated as transferable assets during financial distress and will explore policy options of relevance to both state and federal policymakers seeking to better align bankruptcy law, data protection regimes, and innovation incentives.

Links

• Youtube Link