Blackstone Acquisition of Ill. Residents’ Genetic Info in Ancestry.com Buyout Violated State Law, Class Action Alleges

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The Blackstone Group faces a proposed class action that alleges the multi-billion dollar private equity firm violated an Illinois privacy law when it obtained the genetic information of state residents upon its acquisition of Ancestry.com late last year. 

The 12-page lawsuit claims Blackstone has violated the Illinois Genetic Privacy Act (GIPA), a law designed to prevent the disclosure of residents’ immutable genetic information to unauthorized third parties without their written consent. 

Under the GIPA, “genetic information” includes an individual’s genetic tests, their family members’ genetic tests, the manifestation of a disease or disorder in the individual’s family members or any request for, or receipt of, genetic services or participation in clinical research that includes such, the complaint states. The law provides that entities such as Blackstone may not obtain genetic testing and information derived from genetic testing unless specifically authorized in writing by the person whose genetic information is being disclosed, the suit says. 

Per the case, Blackstone bought Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion last year to capitalize on its massive database of genetic information and then share the data with affiliates and other third parties. The suit says Blackstone disclosed in regulatory filings last year that it had already implemented agreements to share genetic information acquired from Ancestry and that efforts to “repackage and sell such information to unaffiliated third-parties [are] underway.”

Although Blackstone disclosed after its acquisition of Ancestry that proposed class members’ genetic information would be released and/or disclosed to the company for its own use, the defendant failed to identify any method by which Illinois residents could prevent the disclosure of their genetic information, the suit claims. 

According to the complaint, the plaintiff bought an at-home DNA test kit from Ancestry in May 2018. The woman sent the company a saliva sample and skin cells for testing, and her genetic material was sequenced by Ancestry, who then provided the plaintiff with certain genetic details, including her likely ethnic and national heritage, the suit reads. Per the case, the plaintiff believed that Ancestry would keep her genetic information confidential, private and secure and out of the hands of third parties such as Blackstone absent her written consent. 

The lawsuit, initially filed on June 7 in Kane County Circuit Court, was removed to Illinois’ Northern District Court on July 8. 

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