Neurotech companies are selling your brain data, senators warn

is a policy reporter. Her past work has focused on immigration politics, border surveillance technologies, and the rise of the New Right. Three Democratic senators are sounding the alarm over brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies’ ability to collect — and potentially sell — our neural data. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-IN), and Ed Markey (D-MA) called for an investigation into neurotechnology companies’ handling of user data, and for tighter regulations on their data-sharing policies. “Unlike other personal data, neural data — captured directly from the human brain — can reveal mental health conditions, emotional states, and cognitive patterns, even when anonymized,” the letter reads. “This information is not only deeply personal; it is also strategically sensitive.” While the concept of neural technologies may conjure up images of brain implants like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, there are far less invasive — and le ... Read full article.