Neuroprivacy: Mind, Body, and Integrity

This chapter explores neuroprivacy, focusing on privacy concerns related to neurotechnology. It outlines recent advancements and applications in this field and analyses emerging international frameworks, including those developed by the OECD, UNESCO, and the EU. These frameworks address neurorights, particularly the concept of cognitive liberty, understood as a bundle of constitutional rights encompassing personal integrity, freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of expression, due process, and the privilege against self-incrimination. The debate begins within the broader mind–body question, contrasting Western Cartesian dualism with holistic Eastern traditions, especially Japanese views that emphasise the unity of mind and body. These cultural frameworks shape divergent understandings of the brain and its role in human identity, cognition, and death, as seen in Japan’s societal resistance to brain death and in culturally shaped neural adaptations such as the mental abacus. The chapter then explores the unique sensitivity of neurodata, which can reveal deeply personal mental states, raising novel concerns beyond conventional data protection. Laws in jurisdictions like the EU and several U.S. states now acknowledge these concerns, regulating neurodata as sensitive. Legal principles such as data minimisation, accuracy, purpose limitation, and transparency are particularly vital in mitigating risks from brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and emotional AI. However, Japan’s current legal framework, primarily relying on consent under the APPI, remains insufficient to address the complexities of neurodata processing. Thus, the chapter argues that neuroprivacy requires culturally contextualised legal safeguards and a rights-based approach encompassing cognitive liberty, bodily integrity, and mental autonomy.