神经技术时代精神隐私的保护层次及路径

Levels and Paths of Mental Privacy Protection in the Age of Neurotechnology

精神隐私是神经技术时代隐私保护的新维度。本文旨在厘清精神隐私的不同保护层次,构建有针对性的法律保护路径。精神隐私的保护层次涉及数据层、信息层及内容层。在数据层,其所涉大脑数据是人脑结构、活动和功能相关的定量数据,其相关精神隐私风险在于大数据分析的不确定逻辑和数据安全事件可能引发的隐私问题。在信息层,精神隐私保护的对象是与个人生理、健康相关的大脑信息及精神状态信息,其相关精神隐私风险包括生物识别、个人特征预测和精神状态解码等。在内容层,精神隐私的保护对象包括命题性的精神内容和经验性的精神内容,与其相关的“读心”风险目前虽不具有技术现实性,但真实地挑战着人们的隐私感受。就保护路径而言,内容层精神隐私应纳入传统隐私权的保护范畴,信息层精神隐私可适用敏感个人信息的处理规则,数据层精神隐私存在双重保护路径。

Mental privacy is a new dimension of privacy protection in the age of neurotechnology.The purpose of this paper is to clarify the different protection levels of mental privacy and to construct targeted legal protection paths.The protection levels of mental privacy involve the data layer,the information layer and the content layer.The data level involves brain data,which is quantitative data related to the structure,activity and function of the human brain,and its related mental privacy risk lies in privacy issues that may be triggered by the uncertain logic of big data analysis and data security incidents.At the information level,the object of mental privacy protection is brain information related to an individual’s physiology and health,as well as information about mental states.Risks to mental privacy at the information level include biometric information,prediction of personal characteristics,and mental state decoding.At the content level,the objects of mental privacy protection include propositional mental content and experiential mental content,which relevant risk of mind-reading is currently not technically realistic but genuinely challenges people’s feelings of privacy.In terms of protection paths,mental privacy at the content level should be protected through the traditional right to privacy.The protection of mental privacy at the information layer can be subject to the rules for handling sensitive personal information.A dual protection path exists for mental privacy at the data level.