Norway plans temporary restrictions on smart glasses in public places
The Norwegian government announced on Monday that it plans to temporarily and partially ban the use of smart glasses in certain public places, citing privacy concerns, particularly the risk of people being recorded without their knowledge, AFP reports.
The proposed restrictions could apply in parks, on beaches, at museums, shopping centers, schools, nurseries, healthcare facilities, gyms and public events, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.
The minority Labour government will need support from other parties to pass the measure in parliament.
The government intends to introduce a bill “as soon as possible” while also appointing an expert group to examine the possibility of permanent regulations.
“We do not want a society where people are afraid that they may be recorded without their knowledge, photographed or filmed in places and situations where they are not accustomed to being monitored,” said Minister of Digital Affairs and Administration Torgeir Micaelsen.
The government stressed that it does not intend to impose a complete ban on this type of eyewear.
The move comes as smart glasses, particularly those sold by Meta under popular brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, are causing growing concern across Europe.
In France, the e-Enfance association reported last month that it had received around 20 reports of cases in which women were filmed without their consent, most often using Meta smart glasses.
Some of the recordings were later shared on social media, prompting mocking and hateful comments.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened several investigations after receiving complaints over the incidents.
The city of Oslo has already decided to ban glasses equipped with video cameras in schools, while calls for stricter regulations are also growing across the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Meta, for its part, emphasizes that its glasses are equipped with an LED light that activates when a photo or video is being recorded and cannot be disabled without making the camera unusable.
Photo: Chat GPT
