Chilean Neuro-Rights Legislation
Description
Chile became the first country in the world to incorporate neuro-rights (or neuroderechos) into its national constitution, establishing a pioneering legal framework to protect brain activity and mental integrity from the potential harms of emerging neurotechnologies. This legislative initiative has served as a global benchmark, inspiring similar debates and soft-law instruments across Latin America and within international organisations.
The push for neuro-rights in Chile emerged from the Senate's Future Challenges Commission (Comisión de Desafíos del Futuro). Following a visit by neuroscientist Rafael Yuste—a codirector of Columbia University's Neurotechnology Center and cofounder of the New York-based NeuroRights Foundation—the Commission began to address the risks that neurotechnologies pose to human security and free will. Former senator Guido Girardi was a key political figure behind the initiative, advocating for regulation before intrusive applications became widespread.
Legislation
- The Constitutional Amendment: Law No. 21.383
URL = https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1166981
On 25 October 2021, Chile enacted Law No. 21.383, which amended Article 19, number 1 of the Constitution. The reform established that:
Scientific and technological development must serve people and respect both physical and psychic integrity (a person's bodily and mental integrity).
The law must specially safeguard "brain activity" and "the information derived from it."
The amendment introduced neuro-rights as a new category of human rights, granting mental data a status comparable to that of a bodily organ—meaning it cannot be bought, sold, trafficked, or manipulated.
The reform was approved unanimously by the Senate and passed the Chamber of Deputies with broad cross-party support.
- The Implementing Bill (Boletín No. 13.828-19)
While the constitutional amendment established the principle, a separate implementing bill (Boletín No. 13.828-19) was introduced to provide detailed rules on neurorights and neurotechnology research. As of 2026, this bill was still working its way through the legislative chambers.
* International Influence
Chile's constitutional amendment has had a significant demonstration effect across Latin America and beyond:
The reform inspired constitutional initiatives in other countries in the region, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay, which have begun debates on the issue.
It served as a benchmark for soft-law instruments developed by UNESCO, the OECD, and the Inter-American Juridical Committee.
In 2023, the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino) adopted a Model Law on Neuro-Rights (Ley Modelo de Neuroderechos), drawing on the Chilean experience.
The Ibero-American Data Protection Network has highlighted Chile's global leadership in the discussion on neuro-rights.
More information
UNESCO Courier – "Chile: Pioneering the protection of neurorights" (21 March 2022): https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/chile-pioneering-protection-neurorights
AI & Society – "Neurorights: the Chilean constitutional change" (2024): https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-022-01396-0
ScienceDirect – "The Controversial Push for New Brain and Neurorights" (25 February 2025): https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/pii/S1438887125002808