Norway: the government wants to ban smart glasses in schools, hospitals and changing rooms

Oslo is preparing a temporary ban on glasses capable of filming in places where privacy is most at risk, whilst it considers a long-term regulatory framework.

The Norwegian government announced on 5 October that it intends to submit to the Storting, "as soon as possible", a temporary ban on connected glasses in certain public spaces. The Minister of Numerization justifies the measure by the arrival of a powerful technology that allows to photograph, film or record people without them realizing it.

Children and health

The main targets are health facilities, gyms with changing rooms and showers, schools, crèches, playgrounds and youth homes. The text could include concerts, sports events, parks, beaches, museums and shopping malls. Oslo insists that this is not a general ban, private use and certain places will remain allowed, and exceptions are provided for socially useful uses, especially for vulnerable people.

This should allow time to define the devices concerned and decide whether permanent regulation is necessary. It comes at a time when Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, equipped with a camera and a recording light, are reticent in Europe: a Dutch optician has suspended the sale, and British cinemas have restricted its use. The draft has yet to be adopted by the Norwegian Parliament.