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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday approved an amendment to the existing California Consumer Privacy Act to add neural data as a protected type of sensitive personal information.
California defines neural data as "information that is generated by measuring the activity of a consumer's central or peripheral nervous system, and that is not inferred from nonneural information." The new regulation gives neural data the same protections as other human biometric data, like face scans, fingerprints, or DNA.
Companies like Neuralink monitor and collect brain data in order for their products to function, and other apps may collect or track a user's neural data in the future for health, fitness, productivity, or other purposes.
"Devices are being made that will read your brain waves," California State Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan explained during an Assembly meeting on Aug. 31. "We want to make sure that's protected under California CCPA."
While official medical devices are subject to more comprehensive health data protection laws, lifestyle apps or biometric services like 23andMe are not subject to those restrictions at the federal level. The new California rules will let users ask companies to limit the neural data they collect or opt-out from that data being shared or sold.
As neuroscience research progresses, scientists can do more with brain data, turning sci-fi concepts into reality. For years, scientists have been able to use human brain data to reconstruct what a person has seen, The New York Times notes, citing a 2011 study where researchers decoded brain activity. And brain implants from firms like Neuralink are able to transform brain data, letting human patients use computers using only their minds.