Australia eyes ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses

Australia is considering placing a ban on smart glass in government offices and services centres in the midst of growing concerns related to privacy and security.

If implemented, this could be the first ban of its kind. According to public service minister, Katy Gallaghar, the smart glasses can raise legitimate privacy and security especially at a terrifying time when technology is evolving at breakneck pace. These glasses can bring forth the issue of recording and capturing information without consent.

Therefore, it is the need of the hour to enact clear guidelines for the public servants. State-run schools and hospitals, however, will set their own rules.

The federal government has decided against a sweeping ban on importing smart glasses, opting instead to let individual workplaces set their own policies.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese shed light on the urgency of this ban as it has become important to put the right and robust protections in place as technology evolves.

"I am ​proud that Australia is setting the world standard for digital safety," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Several Australia local councils including Brisbane, Melbourne's Yarra, Canterbury-Bankstown, the City of Sydney, and Blacktown, have already banned smart glasses from public spaces like pools, playgrounds, childcare centres, and gyms, with some mayors labelling them "pervert glasses."

However, no national government has enacted a blanket ban across agencies; courts in England, Wales, and New York, as well as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have restricted the technology.

Besides smart glasses, the Australian government is also engaging major businesses like Microsoft and Telstra to establish national workplace AI guidelines.