California Governor Gavin Newsom approved an amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) extending privacy rights to a person’s neural data. Neural data is defined as information that is generated by measuring the activity of a consumer’s central or peripheral nervous system, and that is not inferred from nonneural information. 

The amendment adds neural data to the list of sensitive data elements California defines as sensitive personal information, including but not limited to Social Security number, financial account information, geolocation data, and biological data. The call out of neural data separate from biometric data showcases the attention California, as well as other states, are paying to new and developing technologies in the neurotech space.