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News | 2024-11-04

Diogo de Brito Fonseca contributes to the Data Protection Yearbook 2024

Diogo de Brito Fonseca, trainee lawyer at TELLES' Digital, Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice, has written an article entitled "Brain-computer interfaces and the decoding of thoughts as personal mental data" for the Data Protection Yearbook 2024, published by the Observatório da Proteção de Dados Pessoais of NOVA School of Law.

The TELLES intern addresses the relationship between neurotechnology known as "brain-computer interfaces" (BCI) and the potential possibility of decoding human thoughts as personal data under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Diogo de Brito Fonseca begins by explaining that BCIs are technologies that capture and interpret brain electrical signals to create an external action for their user (such as language and mobility), noting that this capability raises several ethical concerns, particularly regarding brain privacy.

Throughout the text, the author defines what thoughts are, classifying them as Mental Data, and analyses European jurisprudence to determine whether this personal data falls into special data categories under Article 9 of the GDPR, given its private and identity-related nature.

Click on the attachment to read the article.

Data Protection Yearbook 2024 | "Brain computer interfaces and the decoding of thoughts as personal mental data"

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