Vermont H 366: An act relating to 2021 technical corrections

Bill Text

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H.366 1
Introduced by Representatives Cina of Burlington, Priestley of Bradford, 2
Logan of Burlington, and McGill of Bridport 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Health; neurological rights; data privacy 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to provide 7
neurological rights to individuals by creating privacy standards for neural data 8
and by prohibiting electronic devices from bypassing the conscious decision 9
making of individuals who have not provided consent. 10
An act relating to neurological rights 11
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
Sec. 1. PURPOSE 13
An individual has the right to: 14
(1) mental and neural data privacy; 15
(2) the freedom of thought; 16
(3) cognitive liberty; 17
(4) change an individual’s decision regarding neurotechnology and the 18
right to determine by what means to change that decision; 19

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(5) be afforded protection from neurotechnological interventions of the 1
mind and from unauthorized access to or manipulation of an individual’s brain 2
activity; and 3
(6) be afforded protection from unauthorized neurotechnological 4
alterations in mental functions critical to personality. 5
Sec. 2. 18 V.S.A. chapter 42C is added to read: 6
CHAPTER 42C. NEUROLOGICAL RIGHTS 7
§ 1889. DEFINITIONS 8
As used in this chapter: 9
(1) “Brain-computer interface” means a device that enables its user to 10
interact with a computer by means of brain activity only. 11
(2) “Conscious decision making” means an individual making a 12
deliberate decision with awareness and intention. 13
(3) “Consciousness bypass” means the use of neurotechnology to 14
manipulate brain activity by applying electrical or optical stimuli without the 15
conscious awareness of the individual whose brain activity is being 16
manipulated. 17
(4) “Neural data” means information that is generated by the 18
measurement of the activity of an individual’s central or peripheral nervous 19
systems and that can be processed by or with the assistance of a device. 20

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(5) “Neurotechnology” means the assembly of methods and instruments 1
that enable a direct connection of technical components with the nervous 2
system of an individual. 3
(6) “Written informed consent” means the written consent given 4
voluntarily by an individual with capacity, on the individual’s own behalf or on 5
behalf of another in the role of an agent, guardian, or surrogate, after being 6
fully informed of the nature, benefits, risks, and consequences of the proposed 7
agreement. 8
§ 1890. NEURAL DATA PRIVACY 9
(a) Prohibition. Subject to the limited exceptions provided in this section, 10
no person shall: 11
(1) collect or record an individual’s neural data gathered from a brain-12
computer interface; or 13
(2) share with a third party an individual’s neural data gathered from a 14
brain-computer interface. 15
(b) Consent to collect. A person shall not collect or record an individual’s 16
neural data gathered from a brain-computer interface unless the person: 17
(1) provides the individual with a written notice explaining how the 18
person will use the individual’s neural data; and 19
(2) thereafter receives written informed consent from the individual to 20
collect or record the individual’s neural data. 21

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(c) Consent to share. A person shall not share with a third party an 1
individual’s neural data gathered from a brain-computer interface unless the 2
person: 3
(1) provides the individual with a written request for the individual’s 4
neural data to be shared with a third party and for what purposes, including the 5
name and address of the third party; and 6
(2) thereafter receives written informed consent from the individual to 7
share the individual’s neural data with the third party. 8
(d) Revocation of consent. 9
(1) An individual who has provided written informed consent allowing a 10
person to collect, record, or share the individual’s neural data pursuant to this 11
section has the right to revoke consent at any time thereafter by providing 12
written notice to the person initially receiving the consent. This revocation of 13
consent notice shall be as easy or easier for the individual to provide as 14
compared to the requirements for initially providing consent. 15
(2) A person who receives written notice from an individual revoking 16
consent pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection shall: 17
(A) destroy all records of the individual’s neural data not later than 18
10 days after receiving the notice; and 19
(B) in the case of the revocation of consent to share an individual’s 20
neural data, immediately: 21

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(i) cease sharing an individual’s neural data with all thir