Get Out of My Head: An Examination of Potential Brain-Computer Interface Data Privacy Concerns

Abstract

Brain-computer interfaces ("BCI"), which interpret brain impulses and translate them into real world outputs, currently exist in a variety of forms. With the continued development of BCIs and their increasing complexity, privacy issues will arise in regards to the data that they collect. Existing federal statutes, such as HIPAA, as well as state data privacy statutes offer some protection to BCI users, but it remains to be seen whether these laws will be sufficient to accommodate the amount and sensitivity of the data likely to be generated by future BCIs. Lastly, this article explores the possibility of admitting data generated from BCIs as evidence in courtrooms, with consideration given to how much intrusion on mental privacy is constitutionally acceptable.