Norway is considering a ban on smart glasses and other camera-enabled wearable headsets as it seeks to regulate the controversial technology amid privacy concerns.
The country’s digital minister Karianne Tung, as quoted by the AFP news agency, said that the government is looking to regulate the use of camera-enabled wearables, such as those made by Meta and Snap. These wearables feature cameras, are internet-connected, and may soon include facial recognition, drawing ire from civil liberties advocates, who say the devices intrude on people’s privacy. Some call the devices “pervert glasses,” prompting considerable consumer backlash.
Norway’s Tung said there is a “clear trend toward combining artificial intelligence with cameras and microphones built into glasses, headphones, hats and other objects we use in everyday life.”
“We must prevent this equipment from being used to monitor other people in public places,” said Tung, who added that this may include banning the use of facial recognition of other people in public places.
Tung plans to set up a group of experts to advise the government on better protecting people’s privacy rights.