California Expands Data Breach Law To Include Genetic Data

California Expands Data Breach Law To Include Genetic Data

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California Assembly Bill No. 825, Chapter 527, Now Specifies That Personal Information Includes Genetic Data

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that on October 18, 2021, “The National Law Review” reported (“California Broadens Security and Breach Laws, Includes Genetic Data”) that “California recently updated both its data security and breach notice laws to include genetic data. With the passage of AB 825, the data security law now includes in the definition of ‘personal information’ genetic data. The information needs to be ‘reasonably protected.’ While many other states have similar ‘reasonable protection’ requirements in their data security laws, California is one of a handful to specifically list genetic information.”

According to Assembly Bill 825:

. . . ‘genetic data’ means any data, regardless of its format, that results from the analysis of a biological sample of an individual, or from another source enabling equivalent information to be obtained, and concerns genetic material. Genetic material includes, but is not limited to, deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA), ribonucleic acids (RNA), genes, chromosomes, alleles, genomes, alterations or modifications to DNA or RNA, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), uninterpreted data that results from analysis of the biological sample or other source, and any information extrapolated, derived, or inferred therefrom. [Emphasis added.]

Have You Been Impacted by A Data Breach?

If so, please contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], complete the form on the right or e-mail [email protected] for a free, no-obligation case evaluation of your facts to determine whether your privacy rights have been violated and discuss potential legal claims.

Examples of the type of relief sought by data privacy class actions, include, but are not limited to, reimbursement of identity theft losses and of out-of-pocket costs paid by data breach victims for protective measures such as credit monitoring services, credit reports, and credit freezes; compensation for time spent responding to the breach; imposition of credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance, paid for by the defendant company; and improvements to the defendant company’s data security systems.

Data privacy class actions are brought on a contingent-fee basis; thus, plaintiffs and the class members do not pay out-of-pocket attorney’s fees or litigation costs.  Subject to court approval, attorney’s fees and litigation costs are derived from the recovery obtained for the class.

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.