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UN report on neurotechnology warns brain data from gadgets could be used against people in court

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A UN report on neurotechnology presented to the General Assembly on 15 October 2026 warns that brain signals recorded by a gaming headset or a wellness gadget could one day be used as evidence against people in court. It says the technology is moving faster than the laws meant to protect human rights.

neurotechnology: Assistive technologies for mobility and sight have grown fast in recent years (file)
Assistive technologies for mobility and sight have grown fast in recent years (file) Photo: WIPO via UN News (editorial use with credit).

What the UN report on neurotechnology says

Senior UN human rights official Claudia Fuentes Julio presented the Secretary-General’s report to the Assembly’s Third Committee. She said the technology could threaten privacy, freedom of thought and the right to a fair trial, especially for marginalised people. Neurotechnology was once used only for medical diagnosis and treatment, to measure, monitor, analyse or modulate the nervous system. It now gathers neural data, defined as information about the structure, activity and function of the nervous system. The report examines its growing use in justice systems and the risks of combining it with artificial intelligence, according to UN News. ‘Neurotechnology accesses, measures and analyses brain signals,’ the Secretary-General wrote.

Key Facts

  • Presented: UN General Assembly Third Committee, 15 Oct 2026
  • Presented by: UN Assistant Secretary-General Claudia Fuentes Julio
  • Main risk: brain data used as evidence in court
  • Rights at stake: privacy, freedom of thought, fair trial
  • Ask: ban coercive uses, consent, oversight, data protection

Neural data from wellness and gaming devices

Devices that were once limited to clinics and labs are entering, or may soon enter, consumer markets, workplaces, schools, public services, law enforcement and courts, the report found. Wearable electroencephalography (EEG) headsets are now widely sold for wellness, gaming and productivity. Neural data collected through these devices could be accessed by governments or used in legal cases without proper recognition of how sensitive it is, the report warned. ‘If these signals are treated as direct indicators of thoughts, intentions or truthfulness, the use of neural data points could undermine how we understand and value each of us as human beings,’ the Secretary-General wrote.

Human rights safeguards the UN wants

The report calls for ‘prohibitions on coercive and abusive uses, and stronger safeguards, informed consent, scientific validation, oversight, accountability and protection of neural data,’ Fuentes Julio said. It describes neural data as ‘uniquely sensitive personal data’ that needs extra protection. Fuentes Julio also pointed to the growing commercial use of the technology and the large amounts of neural data being collected by tech companies. Inside BCI, a site that tracks brain-computer interfaces, reported that the report recommends banning coercive use of neurotechnology in justice systems. The report says the technology holds real promise for medical and assistive uses. But in courtrooms it serves different purposes and carries distinct legal and human rights risks, especially when tools and data built for medicine are reused without proper safeguards, it argues. The report’s findings are set out in the UN News article and the Secretary-General’s report itself.

Why It Matters: Cheap brain-sensing headsets are already on sale, so rules on who can read and use that data are needed before courts start relying on it.

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Source: UN News · Inside BCI

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