Episode 167 — Colorado act to guard our brains: the Privacy of neural data

Data Privacy Detective

In April 2024 Colorado became the first U.S. state to declare neural data - what goes on in our brains - to be “sensitive data” subject to its Privacy Act. Neural data will be treated the same as medical and other sensitive data such as fingerprints and facial images. The law will permit individuals to access, delete and correct their neural data. It will require organizations collecting neural data to obtain prior consent and disclose what they will do with it .

https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2024a_1058_signed.pdf

Explore why this pioneering data privacy act is timely and how it will be used. Consider why the Colorado legislature voted almost unanimously in favor, though opposition was strident, including from academia. Learn whether regulating neural data this way is enough to protect the privacy of our brains and whether Colorado’s action is likely to be the start of a wave of brain data protection.

The first 155 episodes of Data Privacy Detective can be found on the feed of the Frost Brown Todd Podcast. You can listen on Apple Podcasts (https://bit.ly/49XRU2k), Spotify (https://bit.ly/49XRU2k), or Soundcloud (https://bit.ly/3T8EWrw).