A growing number of organizations are developing “immersive technologies,” a collection of hardware and software products that substitute, enhance, or alter users’ individual, physical-world experiences. These emerging technologies—which include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and some brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)—have the potential to transform entertainment, education, healthcare, advertising, and other business sectors. However, they also raise important privacy and data protection questions.
Immersive technologies are powered by numerous sensors, large volumes and varieties of data, and various algorithms and automated systems. Many immersive technologies must collect and use intimate, sensitive data about users and their environments in order to function. Without safeguards, this data could be used to manipulate, discriminate against, and make adverse decisions about both users and bystanders. FPF works with experts from industry, academia, and civil society to identify the privacy and data protection risks in this nascent field, analyze how these technologies are implicated by existing and emerging regulations, and develop best practices and policy recommendations.
BCIs & Data Protection in Healthcare: Data Flows, Risks, and Regulations
This post is the second in a four-part series on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), providing an overview of the technology, use cases, privacy risks, and proposed recommendations for promoting privacy and mitigating risks associated with BCIs. Click here for FPF and IBM’s full report: Privacy and the Connected Mind. In case you missed it, read the […]