Norway’s digital minister says the government will move to regulate camera-equipped smart glasses and other wearable devices, and is weighing a ban on facial recognition in public spaces.

Karianne Tung told AFP there is a clear trend toward combining AI with cameras and microphones built into glasses, headphones, hats and other everyday objects. “We must prevent this equipment from being used to monitor other people in public places,” she said, adding that curbs may include banning the recognition of other people’s faces in public.

The devices in question include camera glasses from Meta and Snap. They are internet-connected, and makers are adding AI features that civil liberties advocates warn could enable surveillance. Some consumers now call such products “pervert glasses,” and the backlash has pushed courts, employers and venues to restrict them.

Norway is not alone in pushing back. Courts in England and Wales have barred the glasses from hearings, US agencies have restricted them at work, and some nightclubs refuse entry to wearers. Tung says an expert advisory panel will help the government keep privacy safeguards ahead of the hardware’s spread.

Source: TechCrunch