Neurorights Foundation
Non-profit co-founded in 2022 by Columbia neuroscientist Rafael Yuste, human rights lawyer Jared Genser and entrepreneur Jamie Daves. It campaigns for neural data laws and has reviewed the privacy practices of 30 consumer neurotechnology companies.
Overview
Rafael Yuste of Columbia University convened the Morningside Group on neurotechnology ethics in 2017 and in 2022 launched the Neurorights Foundation with Jared Genser and Jamie Daves. The Foundation advances five neurorights: mental privacy, personal identity, free will, fair access to mental augmentation, and protection from bias. Stephen Damianos is its executive director.
Research
Its April 2024 report, Safeguarding Brain Data, by Genser, Damianos and Yuste, reviewed 30 consumer neurotechnology companies. It found that 29 appeared to have access to users’ neural data with no meaningful limits, that 17 said they could share consumer data to comply with legal requests, and that none said it would resist requests from law enforcement or government. UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew on the review in his August 2026 report to the General Assembly on neurotechnology in justice systems. In March 2026 Damianos and Ben Moskowitz of Consumer Reports were building an annual industry scorecard for consumer neurotechnology.
US state laws
The Foundation’s US work runs state by state. When Vermont’s legislature passed H.814 in May 2026, Yuste called the state the ninth territory worldwide with neural data legislation, and the Foundation was working in nine further US states. H.814 was enacted without the consent requirement the Foundation advocates. As of October 2026, Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut have enforceable neural data laws, Vermont’s separate Act 145 requires consent to process or sell neural data from 1 January 2028, and Delaware adds neural data to its sensitive data category from 1 January 2027.
Why it matters
For consumer neurotechnology companies, the Foundation’s 2024 review is now part of a UN Secretary-General report, and the planned scorecard would track the sector’s ethical performance over time.
Coverage on InsideBCI
- 29 March 2026: Asilomar Summit Convenes to Build Governance Toolkit for Neurotechnology
- 21 May 2026: Vermont signs H.814 into law, becoming the fifth US state with a neural rights statute
- 11 August 2026: California AB 1883 would prohibit employer collection of brain data unless used for safety
- 8 September 2026: Four senior BCI neurosurgeon-scientists use Nature Neuroscience to press for tighter research ethics as implant numbers scale
- 11 October 2026: UN Secretary-General recommends banning coercive use of neurotechnology in justice systems