Norway plans the first government ban on AI smart glasses in public places
What's the deal? Norway's government says it will put forward a temporary ban on using camera-equipped smart glasses in a range of public places, including parks, beaches, museums, shopping centres, schools, daycare centres, healthcare facilities, gyms and public events. Private use would still be allowed. An expert group will draw up permanent rules, The Guardian reported on 5 October.
Why? Digital affairs minister Torgeir Micaelsen said he was "worried that new, powerful technology is being introduced where people risk being photographed, filmed or audio-recorded without knowing it". The Financial Times describes it as the first proposal by any government to ban AI glasses in certain public places, and quotes the minister saying Norway must not repeat the mistakes it made with social media 15 years ago.
What's still open: Labour leads a minority government and needs support from other parties to pass the bill, which it wants to submit "as soon as possible". Exactly where the ban would apply has not been settled.
Context: Meta, which sells Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, has sold at least 9 million pairs of the Ray-Ban versions since the start of 2023, according to The Guardian. Restrictions so far have been piecemeal: UK and US courtrooms, some pubs, restaurants and cinemas. The FT adds that Dutch optician chain Hans Anders stopped selling Meta's Ray-Bans this month over privacy concerns, and that the European Data Protection Board has commissioned a report on the social acceptability of smart glasses. Meta says every pair with a camera has a light that blinks while recording and cannot be switched off.
The signal: AI wearables could face rules about where they may be used, not just how they handle data. If the EDPB work leads to a common European approach, Norway's bill could become the template. That reading is our analysis rather than anything the Norwegian government has said.
Image credit: Carlos Barría/Reuters via The Guardian
