According to Road to VR, Norway’s Ministry of Digitization and Public Administration is pushing for a temporary ban on smart glasses in a broad set of public locations. The government labels these devices “AI glasses” in its official bulletin, and the stated rationale is privacy: people should not have to worry about being photographed, filmed, or audio-recorded without their knowledge.
What Norway is actually proposing
The ban is not a blanket prohibition. It targets specific places where bystanders have a reasonable expectation of not being monitored. The ministry has named parks, beaches, museums, shopping malls, and public events as initial candidates. It is also considering extending the restriction to:
- Schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, and leisure clubs for children
- Health institutions and training facilities with changing rooms and showers
- Universities, colleges, and other educational institutions
Private use would remain legal, and the devices would still be allowed in locations the ministry judges to carry no inherent risk of filming or photographing people without consent—traveling somewhere, for example.
Minister of Digitalization and Public Administration Torgeir Micaelsen framed the measure as a pause, not a permanent fix. “I am concerned that new, powerful technology is being introduced where people risk being photographed, filmed or audio recorded without their knowledge,” he said. The temporary ban would give regulators time for a thorough investigation and an informed debate that could lead to lasting national rules.
A separate council will be established to study permanent regulation of wearable technology. It is not yet clear whether audio-only smart glasses, like the ones Meta introduced late last month, fall within that remit.
A widening privacy backlash
Norway is not acting in isolation. Road to VR notes that earlier this year, legislation in several U.S. states and cities—including New York state and Philadelphia—effectively barred camera-equipped smart glasses from a range of public government buildings. In the Netherlands, optical retail chain Hans Anders stopped selling Meta smart glasses over privacy concerns.
The competitive landscape is also thickening. Google’s Android XR hardware partners Gentle Monster and Warby Parker are preparing to ship smart glasses, adding more devices capable of discreet recording into everyday spaces.
The Norwegian proposal still needs to be drafted as legislation and approved by parliament, so its final scope remains uncertain. But the direction is clear: regulators are moving faster than the technology’s social norms, and smart glasses are now at the center of a conversation about privacy, consent, and the boundaries of wearable cameras.