States pass privacy laws to protect brain data collected by devices

More states are passing laws to protect information generated by a person's brain and nervous system as technology improves the ability to unlock the sensitive details of a person's health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive functioning.

Colorado, California, and Montana are among the states that have recently required safeguarding brain data collected by devices outside of medical settings. That includes headphones, earbuds, and other wearable consumer products that aim to improve sleep, focus, and aging by measuring electrical activity and sending the data to an app on users' phones.

A report by the Neurorights Foundation, an advocacy group that aims to protect people from the misuse of neurotechnology, found that 29 of 30 companies with neurotechnology products that can be purchased online have access to brain data and "provide no meaningful limitations to this access." Almost all of them can share data with third parties.