Norway Plans Smart-Glasses Restrictions Amid Privacy Concerns
Australia is considering restrictions on smart glasses in some public spaces, while courts in several countries have already banned their use. Norway’s government says it plans to present a high-priority bill targeting filming and recording without consent, amid broader privacy concerns about AI-enabled wearables.
Why it matters: New restrictions could shape how AI wearables are used in public spaces and whether they can become a mainstream alternative to phones.
Australia is considering a ban on smart glasses in certain public spaces, while courtrooms in several countries have issued bans as the use of wearable technology increases.
Norway’s government said it did not want to propose a total ban. It said that appropriate use could be where there was no risk of filming people without their consent.
It added that the proposed ban was a “high priority” and that a draft law would soon be presented to parliament.
“We do not want a society where people are concerned about hidden audio recordings, photography, and filming in places and situations where they are used to being without being monitored. Such a society can be experienced as unsafe and cause us to withdraw,” said Micaelsen.
US tech companies such as Meta, Google, and OpenAI believe wearable technology, like smart glasses, has the potential to replace mobile phones as our main gateway to AI. They believe that talking to AI—which will listen to people’s conversations and daily life—is easier than opening an app and typing in queries. Analysts at Counterpoint Research estimate consumers will spend more than $1 trillion between 2026 and 2032 on wearable devices.
But that has raised widespread privacy concerns about what such smart glasses could see or hear, and led to them being dubbed “pervert technology” by some campaigners.
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