Schumer-Cantwell Neural Data Bill Seen as Broader Than State Laws
Senate Democrats’ neural data legislation includes broader definitions than existing state measures, Davis Wright Tremaine attorneys said Wednesday.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced the Management of Individuals Neural Data (Mind) Act with Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., earlier this month (see 2510030042). The bill would direct the FTC to recommend potential areas for regulation and direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy to issue federal guidance.
The bill adopts a “very broad definition of neural data” that includes central nervous system (CNS) data and peripheral nervous system (PNS) data, they said. CNS data is measured directly, while PNS “reflects physiological responses, such as heart rate or motor activity, that may only indirectly, at best, suggest mental states,” they said.
Connecticut has passed a measure limiting the definition to CNS data only, while measures in California, Montana and Colorado apply to CNS and PNS, they noted. California, Colorado and Montana have varying data definitions, they added.