Technology
• Analysis
Temporary Norway smart glasses ban planned for public places
A temporary Norway smart glasses ban would prohibit camera-equipped glasses in parks, beaches, museums, shopping centres, schools, daycare centres, healthcare facilities, gyms and at public events, while private use would remain allowed. Digital affairs minister Torgeir Micaelsen said people risk being photographed, filmed or audio-recorded without knowing it as the powerful new technology spreads.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 5, 2026
• 3 Min Read
Where the ban would apply
Norway's government has drafted a bill that would prohibit camera-enabled glasses across a defined list of public settings. The restriction stops at private life: using smart glasses in private settings would remain permitted under the proposal.
The places covered would be:
- •Parks
- •Beaches
- •Museums
- •Shopping centres
- •Schools
- •Daycare centres
- •Healthcare facilities
- •Gyms
- •Public events
Why the government is acting
Torgeir Micaelsen, Norway's minister of digital affairs, said he is worried that new, powerful technology is being introduced where people risk being photographed, filmed or audio-recorded without knowing it. The plan comes amid rising worldwide concern over AI-enabled recording devices.
Micaelsen said:
"We do not want a society where people worry about being recorded without their knowledge."
Getting the ban onto the statute book depends on other parties, because Norway's Labour party heads a minority government and needs their support. The party said it planned to submit the bill as soon as possible. Alongside the temporary measure, an expert group has been tasked with drawing up permanent regulations on smart glasses.
Restrictions already in place elsewhere
Camera glasses are not waiting for new laws to meet their first limits: restrictions already exist in UK and US courtrooms and in pubs, cinemas and restaurants where owners have raised privacy fears.
- •Restaurateur Jeremy King, who created the Wolseley and the Delaunay, and the Wetherspoons pub chain have said they do not want customers using the devices.
- •Cinema operators said in August they had begun bringing in policies to ban or restrict smart glasses, citing privacy and film piracy concerns.
- •In the week before the report, California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have penalised people for using smart glasses to record others without permission in changing rooms, doctors' offices and other spaces generally seen as private. The state already has laws governing unlawful recording.
Meta's camera glasses at the centre
Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, sells smart versions of Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses that let users film, take photos, make calls, play music and run AI prompts. At least 9m pairs of the Ray-Ban versions have been sold since the start of 2023.
In France, the child welfare group E-enfance said it had received about 20 reports this year of women being filmed without their knowledge with camera-fitted glasses, most involving Meta smart glasses. The group described a recurring pattern: a girl or woman approached in a public place, filmed without her knowledge, and the clip posted on social media as a prank or street interview.
Meta stressed that every pair of its glasses carries a tamper-proof LED light that blinks white while the user is recording or taking pictures. Its advice to users is to stop recording if anyone objects to being photographed. Meta had been approached for comment at the time of the report.
