Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence or brain data mining lead to new risks for the citizens’ fundamental rights. When the European Union starts regulating such technologies, the establishment of accountability forums is one of the core regulatory strategies for the protection of fundamental rights. The panel looks at the accountability settings established in these areas and combines this with perspectives on well-established accountability forums such as the European Ombudsman, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Data Protection Board.

This paper takes stock of recent developments in the emergence of fundamental rights associated with neural data privacy at the international level and the European Union.

Recent years have witnessed an upsurge in our understanding of how the human brain works. Brain imaging techniques have long helped understanding many brain processes, revealing individuals' attitudes and preferences, and responses to stimuli. Yet, the convergence between neuro-technology, big data and artificial intelligence creates a disruptive scenario whose consequences we only begin to fathom. Smart Neural Implants offer custom-tailored solutions for persons suffering from incapacitating conditions (such as lockdown syndrome or epilepsy), thereby contributing to a more inclusive society.

At the same time, the technologies of smart neural implants are being explored for cognitive enhancement. We assist to the mushrooming of companies aimed at developing or distributing devices enabling the acquisition of new sense by those who can afford it: an inner compass, infrared sight, solving complex calculations using the mind, or accessing online databases. On top of that, successful animal testing has proved the feasibility of surgically implanting artificial memories in mice or removing memories in snails, a human application being not so distant.

The paper introduces the main regulatory efforts to affirm core neuro-rights facing smart neural implants, which remain largely sparse (Chile, the Netherlands, Spain) and ineffective to date. National regulators seem badly equipped to enforce limitations and constraints on foreign companies. The EU emerges as the right level to foster supranational regulation protective of citizens' (fundamental) rights in this field, due to its broad competences under the Treaties; likewise, its claimed role as a global power has earned the EU leverage to broke new international treaties, acting as a pole of attraction for others to follow suit. Through literature review and mapping the legal/political risks of a generalized use of smart neural implants, the paper takes stock of the steps taken in the EU to tackle the emerging need to foster the regulation and enforcement of fundamental rights considering these devices.

Over nearly three decades, the European Ombudsman (EO) has transformed from primarily addressing individual complaints to emerging as an ardent advocate for good governance and transparency within the European Union (EU). This paper explores the factors that facilitated the EO's notable shift and its evolution into a proactive force for systemic change. The aim is to uncover the underlying mechanisms that have driven the EO into a position of influence within the EU's accountability landscape.

To grasp the nature and implications of the EO’s evolution, this paper centers on three key aspects: the EO’s changing formal powers, its adaptation to network and organizational capabilities, and its proactive engagement in relevant account-holding activities. Through this analysis, we gain insights into how the EO dynamically responds to challenges of maladministration and how the evolving impact of its actions shapes EU governance. In doing so, the paper contributes to our understanding of the 'ombudsmanization' of the EU's accountability landscape.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is renowned to be a black box. This is a particular challenge in the perspective of accountability and fundamental rights. In December 2023, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission reached a compromise in the Trilogue negotiations for a Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (“Articficial Intelligence Act”), based on a proposal published by the Commission in 2021 (COM(2021) 206 final). The paper analyses the accountability mechanisms that the AI Regulation introduces and discusses how far these mechanism can contribute to the accountable use of AI in a democratic rule of law context with respect to the requirements of fairness, transparency and explainability. The paper also looks at the relationship between additional accountability settings for AI and well-established accountability forums such as the European Data Protection Supervisor, the European Data Protection Board and the European Ombudsman.