The right to freedom of thought features prominently in debates about emerging technologies including neurotechnology and AI, but there is little understanding of its scope, content or application. This handbook presents the first attempt to set out how the right is protected, interpreted and applied globally. Eighteen jurisdictions are examined along with chapters describing context-setting, interdisciplinary approaches, and close analysis of the right in relation to specific challenges and conceptual difficulties. Readers familiar with the right will discover fresh perspectives and those new to the right will learn how it is part of the matrix of rights protecting autonomy, dignity, and privacy.

‘A remarkable intellectual effort to provide legal solutions to how freedom of thought can be better protected. Essential reading for any legal scholar interested in how rapid technological advances can interfere with the most intimate and until now unfathomable sphere of the individual: the mind. This collective work presents some of the most controversial issues that should be urgently answered by legal doctrine and practitioners to better assess where human rights risks may emerge in this context and how violations can manifest and be prevented. For all those advocating for the effective enjoyment of free and independent thinking, this handbook is certainly a must.’

Milena Costas Trascasas - Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee and Rapporteur of the Study on Neurotechnology and Human Rights submitted to the UNHRC in September 2024

‘It is an astonishing achievement to have brought such a diverse range of scholars from so many different parts of the world together in one volume to address freedom of thought - a topic of increasing significance given recent technological advancements. In one book, the editors and contributors have moved the scholarly literature on this erstwhile neglected right to a place where there is now a very good basis for the careful consideration and development of the right to freedom of thought that is urgently needed.’

Allan McCay - Co-director of The Sydney Institute of Criminology, Academic Fellow at the University of Sydney Law School, and President of the Centre for Neurotechnology and Law