That’s exactly what Sen. Tom Umberg’s newest bill would prevent in the real world, where brain-computer interfaces are becoming more of a reality rather than a phenomenon from “Star Trek.”
SACRAMENTO SNAPSHOT'
Editor’s note: Sacramento Snapshot is a weekly series during the legislative session detailing what Orange County’s representatives in the Assembly and Senate are working on — from committee work to bill passages and more.Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, are a rapidly evolving technology. With the use of an external device, generally a computer, BCIs essentially facilitate communication between a person’s brain and that device.
The technology is generally used in the health care field, and it doesn’t necessarily take down all of a person’s thoughts — at least yet.
Recently, researchers at UC San Francisco helped a paralyzed man control a robotic arm using a BCI that lasted for seven months without needing adjustments. And last year, Alameda-headquartered Science Corporation said its retina implant was able to restore “form vision” in patients who had lost their central visual field, using BCI technology.
There’s also Elon Musk‘s Neurolink, which, through a clinical trial, has placed implants in a few people who are unable to move their arms and legs because of spinal cord injuries or ALS. The device can help those people control computers to play games or design software, according to a press release from the company. Musk has been named a “special government employee,” working closely with the president in the second Trump administration.
But the largely unregulated technology is also expanding into other consumer spaces, including the entertainment and business sectors as well.
And as the technology evolves, Umberg, D- Santa Ana, wants to ensure companies are using the data they collect for the intended purposes.
“At the most extreme, nobody deserves their innermost thoughts and feelings being perverted or manipulated by the likes of Elon Musk who, by his own admission, has odd beliefs on genetics,” said Umberg, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. “On a more likely day-to-day basis, however, those experimenting with and benefitting from this incredible technology should be lauded for their bravery and ingenuity with some basic protections.”
In other words, Umberg wants people to keep their thoughts to themselves — as much as possible.
SB 44 would require companies to use neural data only for the purpose for which it was collected. And once that purpose for that data has been fulfilled, the data would need to be deleted, according to the new bill’s text.
“It’s wonderful that we research it, but I want to make sure that privacy is maintained,” Umberg said of BCI technology. “I don’t think anyone wants all of their inner thoughts collected and possibly revealed.”
A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found several challenges with BCI technology, including uncertainties with data ownership or control.
“Without a unified privacy framework for all BCIs, or standards on data ownership and control, companies that develop and sell BCIs may have access to sensitive brain signal data without users’ understanding or consent,” the December 2024 report said. “In addition, agreements between developers and users may be predatory or unclear.”
Colorado and Minnesota have already taken steps to regulate, at least somewhat, the data collected from BCI technology, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, a nonprofit group focused on privacy and artificial intelligence.
What bills are Orange County’s legislators pushing this year? Check out our bill tracker here. A bill in the Minnesota Legislature this year would establish the right to mental privacy, prohibiting a government agency from collecting data transcribed from brain activity without informed consent.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis last year greenlit a measure that expanded the state’s privacy law to include neural data, or information collected from the brain.
Califonia’s own Consumer Privacy Act was also expanded last year to include neural data, giving people the ability to request, delete or restrict the sharing of their data.
But Umberg’s bill seeks to outright mandate that companies can only use the collected neural data for the purpose for which it was intended to be used and disposed of when done.
“This is an exciting new space, but with every new sort of concept, just like with artificial intelligence, our job in government is to protect Californians’ privacy interests,” Umberg said.
SB 44, the Neural Data Protection Act, has been referred to the Committee on Rules.
For Orange County’s Assembly members, the changes mostly meant additions.
Assemblymember Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, was appointed to serve as vice chair of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, replacing Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare. She was also picked to replace Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, on the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee and was named to the Natural Resources Committee while removed from the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.
Assemblymember Phillip Chen, R-Yorba Linda, replaced Assemblymember Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, as vice chair of the Assembly Health Committee.
The reshuffling angered Republicans, with Minority Leader James Gallagher calling it retaliation “for highlighting their (Democrats’) failures on the cost of living, insurance, wildfire and energy.”
“Let me be clear. We will not be intimidated by petty politics,” Gallagher, R-Yuba City, said.
- Rep. Tri Ta, R-Westminster, on Friday called for a federal civil rights investigation into California’s law that bars manicurists from being classified as an independent contractor. Ta has already filed a bill that would exempt manicurists from the law that requires an “ABC test” to determine if a worker qualifies as an independent contractor under California law.
In calling for the civil rights probe, Ta said the law treats manicurists differently than other beauty industry professionals and discriminates against Asian women because they make up the majority of nail salon workers.
- Legislators this year will decide on a bill that would remove certain smog check requirements for classic cars that are at least 35 years old, as long as they are insured as collector vehicles.
The bill, from Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, is backed by comedian Jay Leno. He said smog check laws can vary by state, and California’s needs to be updated. Classic cars are not often driven, Leno said, instead used for special occasions and car shows.
“California’s rich classic car culture, sparked by the post-war hot rod boom and boosted by Hollywood’s love for chrome and horsepower, has made it a paradise for enthusiasts like me,” Leno said in a statement. “From the start, California has been a driving force in shaping car culture, with deep ties to classic cars and a global reputation as a hub for these timeless machines.”
The bill has not yet been referred to a committee.
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