Healthcare facilities and fitness centers with changing rooms or showers are among the locations under consideration. Officials are also focusing on places frequented by children, including schools, kindergartens, playgrounds and youth clubs.
The scope could extend further. Authorities have also raised the possibility of restrictions at concerts, sporting events, parks, beaches, museums and shopping centers. The temporary measure would give the government time to determine which devices should fall under the rules and whether permanent regulation is needed.
The government is also considering exceptions for vulnerable groups where smart glasses could provide what it described as “socially beneficial uses.”
The proposal comes as camera- and microphone-equipped glasses become more visible in everyday settings. Meta, which sells AI glasses with Ray-Ban, advises users to respect other people’s preferences and stop recording when someone objects.
“Respect people’s preferences. Not everyone loves being photographed. Stop recording if anyone expresses that they would rather you not,” Meta says in its guidance.
Meta says its glasses use a visible light to indicate recording. The company also says the camera is disabled if the system detects that the indicator has been covered or tampered with.
Privacy groups have welcomed Norway’s approach. Adam Smith, a technology advocacy officer at Privacy International, called the proposal “a welcome protection against big tech’s greedy attempts to extract ever more data, often in absence of any thought for the privacy or rights of others.”
“No reality exists in which people expect to be secretly surveilled going about their daily lives,” Smith said.
Other governments and businesses are also weighing how to respond to wearable recording technology. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed legislation that would have penalized the use of smart glasses to secretly record people in places such as changing rooms and doctors’ offices. Newsom said the bill’s definition of wearable recording devices was too broad and noted that existing state law already restricts certain unauthorized recordings.
Some companies have taken their own steps. Dutch eyewear retailer Hans Anders has suspended sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses while public and political debate continues over how the technology should be used.
“This decision follows the ongoing public and political debate surrounding smart glasses and the questions being raised about the conditions under which this technology can be used,” the retailer said.
The UK Cinema Association has also introduced policies restricting or prohibiting camera-equipped smart glasses in cinemas, pointing to both privacy concerns and the risk of film piracy.
Norway’s proposal would give lawmakers and regulators more time to define where wearable AI devices belong and where their recording capabilities create unacceptable privacy risks, without removing the technology from general use altogether.
This analysis is based on reporting from AP News.
Image courtesy of Cybernews.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
