California Passes Law to Protect Consumers’ Brain Data

KAKALI DAS

Do you use a virtual reality app for guided meditation? What about software that uses AI to personalize your focus sessions? Or do you wear smart glasses with blue light filters to enhance sleep and reduce digital eye strain?

Ultimately, the specific tool you choose and your reasons for using it don’t matter. If you’ve ever allowed technology to influence your thoughts or mindset, this story is for you.

Since the dawn of humanity, our innermost thoughts have been entirely our own—silent, private, and untouchable. We’ve always taken this for granted. But with technology advancing at a rapid pace, the privacy of our thoughts may not remain intact for much longer.

California Passes Law to Protect Consumers’ Brain Data

There are brain apps, devices, and implants that all claim to enhance our well-being. We eagerly adopt these technologies, and what follows is this: these products monitor our brain activity, analyse brain wave patterns, and collect brain data. They can capture nearly everything that occurs in our minds—our thoughts, emotions, and even our intentions and desires.

What happens to this data? Is it genuinely used for positive purposes? What if it is exploited for negative outcomes? The truth is, no one knows for certain!

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However, if you reside in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, there’s one certainty: your brain can now seek legal protection. California has enacted a new law designed to safeguard individuals’ brain data, or neural data. This information will be granted the same protections as other sensitive data, such as biometric information like facial recognition data, DNA, and fingerprints.

With the implementation of this new law, users can restrict the amount of data that neurotechnology companies collect from them and prevent these companies from sharing that data with third parties.

Experts are applauding this law, as California is one of the few states taking brain privacy seriously. Earlier this year, Colorado enacted similar legislation, marking a first for the U.S. But what about the rest of the world?

In 2021, Chile became the first country to protect neural data by incorporating “mental integrity” into its constitution. This was a ground-breaking development.

Last year, a Brazilian state enacted a law to safeguard brain privacy rights. Several countries, including Mexico, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Argentina, have also proposed legislation to establish the right to mental privacy. However, such examples remain rare, and progress has been slow.

Meanwhile, technology is advancing at an astonishing pace. Startups are emerging to help people control devices like Alexa using their minds, while billionaires are investing in brain implants. Consider Elon Musk’s Neuralink—what’s their ambitious goal? To enable telepathic communication, allowing people to share thoughts directly. It sounds like something out of a superhero movie.

Then there’s non-invasive brain technology, with companies like Meta and Snapchat actively developing it. Apple is also patenting an advanced AirPod that can monitor brain activity through the ears. Meanwhile, scientists have created AI brain decoders capable of translating unspoken thoughts into text.

This information is enough to make your head spin. Technology is incredibly fascinating, and it can be helpful—sometimes even life-changing. However, the question still lingers: Who is regulating this technology? Various companies are creating massive repositories of data, sifting through billions of brain waves.

According to studies, many of these companies are selling this data. Why is this happening? Because while neurotechnology has the potential to improve our health, these products often do not qualify as medical devices. As a result, they aren’t required to adhere to health regulations, and there aren’t sufficient rules governing technological innovation either.

Take social media, for example! These giants are gathering all sorts of data from us and are reportedly selling it as well. Yet, our policies still lag behind their practices, despite this technology being around for nearly two decades. If we struggle to manage social media effectively, how can we expect to handle something as complex as neurotechnology?

It’s a question we must confront, because without regulation, neurotechnology could bring our worst fears into reality, just as our thoughts can sometimes escape the confines of our minds.

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