Brain Implant Companies Apparently Have an Extremely Dirty Secret

In the 21st century, it's safe to say no secret is safe. Our personal data is constantly bottled and sold — by the companies whose apps we use every day, to the advertisers cluttering our phones with increasingly personalized ads. So far, that "data mining" has been confined to our phones and computers. But now, a group of lawmakers are speaking out about an even further breach of privacy: companies scraping data from brain implants. In a joint letter sent on Monday, democratic senators Chuck Schumer, Maria Cantwell, and Edward Markey joined together to "express concern over the handling of sensitive neural data generated by the rapid development and commercialization of brain-computer interface technologies." The memo notes that neural data is "deeply personal" and "strategically sensitive," likely holding secrets to our mental health, emotions, and cognitive abilities. They cite a recent study by the NeuroRights Foundation that found that the "vast majority" of brain implant compa ... Read full article.