Plan to temporarily ban the use of smart glasses in public spaces in Norway

The Norwegian government wants to impose a temporary ban on the use of smart glasses in public spaces due to privacy concerns caused by recording images without people's knowledge and consent.

The planned restriction is expected to cover parks, beaches, museums, shopping malls, schools, nurseries, health institutions, gyms and public event areas.

According to the French news agency AFP, the Labor Party, which leads the minority government, needs the support of other parties to pass the bill into law.

While the government plans to submit the draft law on the subject to the parliament as soon as possible, it has also tasked a committee of experts to prepare permanent regulations.

Minister of Digitalization and Public Administration Torgeir Micaelsen said in his statement on the subject, "We do not want a society where people have to worry about being recorded, photographed or videotaped without their consent in places and situations where they are used to not being watched."

The government underlined that it is not seeking a blanket and absolute ban on smart glasses.

Recently, smart glasses, especially those launched by Meta under brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, have caused concerns across Europe.

While the use of camera glasses is banned in schools in Oslo, the capital of Norway, calls for stricter legal control are increasing across the European Union and the United Kingdom.

In France, children's rights organization e-Enfance reported that they received approximately 20 reports of women being filmed without their consent, and that Meta glasses were used in most of these cases.

After some recorded images were shared on social media accompanied by mockery and hate speech, the Paris Prosecutor's Office launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of sexual harassment.

Commercial complaints have also been received by the French data protection authority due to the social impact of glasses.

According to the news of Reuters agency, HateAid, a digital rights organization in Germany; Meta filed a criminal complaint against EssilorLuxottica and major retail chains.

The criminal complaint argues that the products in question violate German digital data protection laws because they function as communication devices designed for covert shooting.

In the US state of California, Meta is facing a class action lawsuit on the grounds of privacy violations caused by secret recordings.