My Mind is Not for Sale. Protect Our Cognitive Liberty Now!
- The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office
- The European Commission Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
- Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy.
Imagine being denied a job because an algorithm analyzed your brainwaves during an interview and decided you weren't a 'good fit.' Imagine your employer monitoring your focus in real-time, penalizing you for moments of distraction.
This isn't science fiction. This is the world we are rapidly entering as new technologies connect our brains to computers.
Our innermost thoughts, feelings, and mental states are the last frontier of privacy. This inner world is now being opened up for data collection, analysis, and even manipulation by corporations and governments. Without clear rules, our very freedom of thought is at risk.
We believe in a fundamental human right for the modern age: Cognitive Liberty. This is the right to mental privacy and the right to self-determination over our own minds. It means our thoughts should be our own, free from surveillance and manipulation.
We, the undersigned, urge you—our elected and appointed officials—to take immediate and decisive action.
We call on you to establish clear legal safeguards for our cognitive liberty by:
- Updating data privacy laws to classify our brain data ('neurodata') as highly sensitive information that requires our explicit and informed consent before it can be collected or used.
- Prohibiting the use of neurotechnology to manipulate our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without our consent.
- Mandating transparency and accountability for any organization that develops or deploys these powerful technologies.
Protect our minds. Defend our freedom of thought. Enshrine cognitive liberty into law before it's too late