Australia Considers Ban on Meta Glasses in Government Buildings

Por Joshua Carroll — Novara Media

The Australian government is mulling a ban on Meta glasses in public offices and buildings. 

The proposed restrictions, which would apply to all camera-equipped smart glasses, would be world-leading, prime minister Anthony Albanese’s government said.

It would be the first time a government had prohibited the privacy-invading technology across all of its departments.   

Last month, court officials in England and Wales told the Guardian that smart glasses had been banned in court buildings. 

Katy Gallagher, Australia’s public services minister, said she was seeking advice on a potential ban. 

“We need clear and consistent guidance for public servants,” she said. “Smart glasses can raise legitimate privacy and security concerns, particularly because of their ability to record and capture information.”

The wearable tech has been branded by some as “pervert glasses”. Women have complained about being filmed without their knowledge or consent by men expressing romantic interest in them, who then upload the videos to the internet. 

Toluwa Omitowoju told CBS Chicago last month that she had no idea a man had filmed her until her friend started sending her the videos, which had by then reached hundreds of thousands of views. 

More than 70 people in the US are suing Meta, alleging the glasses captured intimate images of them and shared them with staff responsible for reviewing and labelling photos and videos, the Los Angeles Times reported.    

Fonte: Novara Media