Australia issues stark warning over smart-glasses, urges new privacy laws
Current Privacy Act does not cover personal information collected by individuals for private use
Australia has issued a stark warning over the use of camera-enabled smart-glasses including Meta’s Ray-Bans and Kmart’s Anko glasses, raising new privacy concerns.
Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind warned that growing use of these smart-glasses can exploit and surveil vulnerable groups, thereby mentioning the need to enact new privacy laws.
In a blogpost, Kind wrote, “Proliferation of smart glasses, including similar products likely to be released by Google and Apple by 2027, would fundamentally alter our experience of interpersonal interactions, in both private and public spaces” while undermining Australians’ ability to make privacy choices.
“It would also require consideration of whether we need new laws.”
“In circumstances where a tech company is receiving and storing personal information collected by surveillance wearables, they’ll have to make sure they’re complying with privacy law.”
A major challenge is that the current Privacy Act does not cover personal information collected by individuals for private use. It means locally stored data may fall outside of current regulations.
On Friday, the attorney general. Michelle Rowland, has also raised the issues over the compromised privacy driven by the smart-glasses. Rowland said, these products can disproportionately affect children and women through “inappropriate recording, harassment, surveillance or other harmful conduct.”
Rowland said in a statement, “Privacy is an essential part of all our lives; it allows us to be who we are with dignity and without fear.”
“The government is continuing to work on the next phase of privacy reforms to ensure our privacy laws are fit for purpose in the digital age.”
In the wake of growing privacy concerns, the Australian government is working on privacy reforms. These measures will require entities to prove that collection and use of personal data is fair and reasonable and implement high standards for consent and stricter protections for geolocation data.
