FACTBOX-Countries weigh banning smart glasses over privacy concerns
Governments, courts and companies are weighing bans as privacy regulators say the devices can record people or confidential materials without notice.
- Amid growing privacy concerns, governments, courts, and companies are restricting camera-enabled smart glasses like Meta's Ray-Bans, targeting courtrooms, schools, and public venues where secret recording is feared.
- New York's Unified Court System banned the eyewear on July 20, requiring visitors to surrender devices; courts in England and Wales implemented similar bans, while Norway proposed restrictions in public spaces.
- For the past 18 months, Darren Paskell, who is visually impaired, has used smart glasses for daily tasks like reading labels, but expressed concern that bans make him feel "excluded from activities that others take for granted."
- Khadija Raza, policy lead at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, urged venues to adopt an "inclusive, proportionate approach," while the European Data Protection Board commissioned a report into the devices' "social acceptability."
- Despite the backlash, EssilorLuxottica reported selling seven million pairs last year, creating tension between rapid market adoption and growing regulatory scrutiny over privacy and accessibility.
12 Articles
12 Articles
The Straits Times
Countries weigh banning smart glasses over privacy concerns
Oct 6 - Governments, courts and companies are considering restrictions and examining existing rules on smart glasses amid worries that the technology, brought to mainstream by Meta's Ray-Bans, could be used to photograph, film or audio-record confidential materials or people without their knowledge. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Governments tighten scrutiny of smart glasses as privacy concerns grow
Washington: Governments, courts and regulators around the world are stepping up scrutiny of smart glasses amid concerns that the technology could be used to photograph, film or record people without their knowledge.The debate has intensified as camera-equipped smart glasses, popularised by products such as Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, become more widely available, raising questions about privacy, security and consent.Australia considers workpla…
Governments, courts, and companies are considering imposing restrictions on smart glasses and reviewing existing laws due to privacy concerns.
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