Your Brain Data Is for Sale, Senators Warn

The fledgling neurotechnology space is filled with products that promise all sorts of utility by reading your brainwaves. Whether they actually accomplish much functionality is debatable, but they are apparently succeeding at monetizing the data they collect from your brain. In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission, Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer, Maria Cantwell, and Ed Markey called for an investigation into neurotech companies’ handling of user data, ringing the alarm bells that some deeply sensitive and personal information may be getting sold. According to the Senators, there is a lack of regulatory guidance as it relates to brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies, which has opened the door to companies collecting and selling user-generated neural data without their clear consent or understanding. “Unlike other personal data, neural data — captured directly from the human brain — can reveal mental health conditions, emotional states, and cognitive patterns, even whe ... Read full article.