Norway is preparing a temporary smart glasses ban over privacy concerns

Smart glasses have already started running into restrictions at restaurants, private clubs, theaters, and even nightclubs because people do not always know when they are being recorded. Some venues have gone as far as treating camera-equipped glasses much like hidden cameras.

Norway is now taking a much bigger step. A little over a month after the government said it was considering tighter rules for smart glasses, it is preparing to ask parliament for a temporary ban on their use in selected places.

What’s happening?

Norway wants the temporary restrictions to apply in places where privacy is especially important. Healthcare facilities, gyms with changing rooms and showers, schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, and youth clubs are among the locations being considered. Parks, beaches, museums, shopping centers, concerts, and sporting events could also be included.

The government is not proposing a complete ban. Smart glasses would still be allowed in some places and for private use. Norway is also considering exceptions for vulnerable groups and other socially beneficial uses. The temporary ban would give authorities more time to decide which devices should be covered and whether permanent rules are needed.

Hardware safeguards have not settled the privacy debate

Meta already uses a visible LED to indicate recording and disables the camera if that light is covered or physically tampered with. Even so, concern around discreet recording has continued. Instagram has removed videos and accA smart glasses detector is now among the top paid apps on Apple’s App Storeounts linked to people using Ray-Ban Meta glasses to harass strangers, while businesses have introduced their own restrictions on camera-equipped eyewear.

Many people are simply not comfortable around camera-equipped glasses. They can pass for ordinary eyewear, so someone nearby may not know whether they are being recorded. The growing interest in apps that detect nearby smart glasses shows that the concern is not going away.