Policy brief
Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Neurotechnologies

In short

Neurotechnologies refers to devices and procedures used to access, monitor, investigate, assess, manipulate, and/or emulate the structure and function of the neural systems of natural persons.

This policy brief sets out recommendations based on the regulatory priorities related to neurotechnologies that were identified in our analysis of EU laws and policies. We address them to EU policymakers and officials involved in the preparation of legislative or policy initiatives related to neurotechnologies, medical devices, dual-use items, privacy and data protection, and AI systems.

To protect and uphold ethical, legal and fundamental rights considerations in the development and deployment of neurotechnologies, TechEthos encourages policy makers to:

• Recognise and define neurorights within the EU’s existing fundamental rights frameworks;
• Clarify the legal status of brain and other neural data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
• Address justice, equality and discrimination gaps in neurotechnology applications and use cases;
• Monitor and evaluate the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks governing emerging use cases of neurotechnologies, such as consumer and dual-use applications;
• Consider the appropriate types of legal or policy instruments for the regulation of neurotechnologies in the EU;
• Clarify the regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based neurotechnologies and consider specific use cases in the classification of neurotechnologies under the proposed AI Act.

Find out more about each recommendation by downloading the policy brief below.

Author

Julie Vinders, Trilateral Research (TRI), Ben Howkins, TRI.

Date of publication

28 February 2023

Cite this resource

Vinders, J., Howkins, B. (2023). Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Neurotechnologies. Extract from Deliverable 6.2 for the European Commission. TechEthos Project Deliverable. Available at: www.techethos.eu

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Policy brief
Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Digital Extended Reality

In short

Digital Extended Reality (XR) technologies technologies combine advanced computing systems (hardware and software) that can change how people connect with each other and their surroundings and influence or manipulate human actions through interactions with virtual environments.

This policy brief sets out recommendations based on the regulatory priorities – including privacy and data protection, the regulation of AI and harmful online content, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, and the protection of special categories of persons, especially children – identified in our analysis of EU laws and policies. We address them to EU policymakers and officials involved in the preparation of legislative or policy initiatives related to XR, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), the metaverse, natural language processing (NLP), privacy and data protection, and AI systems.

To protect and uphold ethical, legal and fundamental rights and sustainability considerations in the development and deployment of XR, TechEthos encourages policy makers to:

• Promote EU fundamental rights and encourage the adoption of ethics-by-design approaches;
• Broaden the scope of Article 9 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by removing the purpose requirement for biometric data to be classified as special category personal data;
• Develop appropriate instruments to tackle and regulate harmful online content in XR technologies;
• Consider specific use cases in the classification of XR technologies under the proposed Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act;
• Promote the effective enforcement, monitoring and compliance with EU laws related to XR technologies, such as the GDPR, Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the proposed AI Act.

Find out more about each recommendation by downloading the policy brief below.

Author

Julie Vinders, Trilateral Research (TRI), Ben Howkins, TRI.

Date of publication

28 February 2023

Cite this resource

Vinders, J., Howkins, B. (2023). Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Digital Extended Reality. Extract from Deliverable 6.2 for the European Commission. TechEthos Project Deliverable. Available at: www.techethos.eu

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Policy brief
Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Solar Radiation Modification

In short

Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) refers to a type of climate engineering technique that aims to reflect sunlight and heat back into space to reduce warming.

This policy brief sets out recommendations based on the regulatory challenges related to SRM that were identified in our analysis of EU laws and policies. We address them to EU policymakers and officials involved in the preparation of legislative or policy initiatives related to climate action, climate technologies, climate engineering, geoengineering, and SRM specifically.

To protect and uphold ethical, fundamental rights and sustainability considerations in the research and development of SRM, TechEthos encourages policy makers to:

• Clarify the definition and various types of research activities that constitute SRM research;
• Determine the conditions under which – if any – research into various types of SRM may be conducted;
• Clarify the role – if any – of various types of SRM in alleviating the impacts of climate change;
• Evaluate the effects of SRM research activities on EU fundamental rights and principles;
• Collaborate internationally and evaluate existing international governance regimes

Find out more about each recommendation by downloading the policy brief below.

Author

Julie Vinders, Trilateral Research (TRI), Ben Howkins, TRI.

Date of publication

28 February 2023

Cite this resource

Vinders, J., Howkins, B. (2023). Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Solar Radiation Modification. Extract from Deliverable 6.2 for the European Commission. TechEthos Project Deliverable. Available at: www.techethos.eu

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Policy brief
Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Removal

In short

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is a type of climate engineering technique, also known as “negative emissions techniques”, that removes atmospheric CO2 and stores it in geological, terrestrial, or oceanic reservoirs.

This policy brief sets out recommendations based on the regulatory challenges related to CDR that were identified in our analysis of EU laws and policies. We address them to EU policymakers and officials involved in the preparation of legislative or policy initiatives related to climate action, climate technologies, climate engineering, geoengineering, carbon removal, and CDR specifically.

To protect and uphold ethical, fundamental rights and sustainability considerations in the research, development and deployment of CDR, TechEthos encourages policy makers to:

• Clarify the EU’s terminology and rationale for the use of terms, including climate engineering, geoengineering, carbon removal and CDR, and pursue the harmonisation of terms to bring them in line with the terminology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
• Clarify what role – if any – CDR has to play in meeting the EU’s legally binding target of net-zero by 2050;
• Explicitly incorporate EU fundamental rights into policies and decision-making processes governing CDR techniques in the EU;
• Clarify the legal status of carbon removals and recognise them as distinct from emission reductions;
• Define the sustainability requirements for CDR, particularly those in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the EU Taxonomy Regulation, and the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) initiative;
• Pursue greater international collaboration in relation to CDR to promote the standardisation of removal accounting to avoid double counting, and the enforcement of such standards;
• Review the adequacy of environmental liability regimes in relation to CDR activities in the EU, including research and deployment.

Find out more about each recommendation by downloading the policy brief below.

Author

Julie Vinders, Trilateral Research (TRI), Ben Howkins, TRI.

Date of publication

28 February 2023

Cite this resource

Vinders, J., Howkins, B. (2023). Enhancing EU legal frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Removal. Extract from Deliverable 6.2 for the European Commission. TechEthos Project Deliverable. Available at: www.techethos.eu

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Publication
Enhancing EU law on emerging technologies: Our recommendations

In short

This report presents a series of policy briefs which offer recommendations to policymakers at the EU level to enhance legal frameworks for the governance of climate engineering (Carbon Dioxide Removal – CDR – and Solar Radiation Modification – SRM), neurotechnologies and digital extended reality (XR).

The recommendations are based on the legal and policy analysis of TechEthos: an in-depth look at international and EU law and policy and a series of national legal case studies. These findings were discussed and validated through consultation meetings with 14 policymakers at the European Commission.

Authors

Julie Vinders, Trilateral Research (TRI), Ben Howkins, TRI

Date of publication

28 February 2023

Status

Draft version submitted to the European Commission for review

Cite this resource

Vinders, J., Howkins, B. (2023). Policy briefs on enhancing EU legal frameworks. Deliverable 6.2 for the European Commission. TechEthos Project Deliverable. Available at: www.techethos.eu

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