Chilean neurorights law & the Emotiv ruling
Chile is the first country to constitutionalize neurorights. A 2021 reform (Law 21.383) amended Article 19 of the Constitution to protect brain activity and the information derived from it, and a companion neuroprotection bill has been under legislative debate. The reform requires that scientific and technological development serve people and respect life and physical and mental integrity.
In 2023 the Chilean Supreme Court applied it. In a case brought by former senator Guido Girardi against the consumer EEG company Emotiv, the court found the handling of the plaintiff's brain data unlawful and ordered its deletion — the first apex-court decision grounded in neurorights.
The ruling is landmark but narrow: it turned on data handling and consumer protection more than on a fully elaborated new right, and it concerned a consumer device rather than a medical implant. It demonstrates justiciability, not yet a complete legal doctrine.