Australian smart-glasses bans spread from pools to federal buildings
After a wave of council bans on AI smart glasses at pools, Canberra now weighs banning them in Commonwealth offices and setting national AI rules.
What to know
- A wave of Australian council bans — Brisbane, Melbourne's Yarra, Sydney's Canterbury-Bankstown and Randwick — now restricts AI smart glasses at pools, gyms, playgrounds and childcare over covert-filming fears.
- The issue has escalated to the federal level: the government is considering banning the glasses in Commonwealth buildings and is drafting national AI rules.
- Digital rights advocates support the bans but warn enforcement is hard because some smart glasses are visually indistinguishable from ordinary eyewear.
“We all need to be able to go out in public without fear of being covertly recorded and having the images uploaded to the internet without our consent.”
Tom Sulston, Head of policy, Digital Rights Watch · Guardian Australia ↗ · Sep 14
Bilal El-Hayek Mayor, Canterbury-Bankstown CouncilTom Sulston Head of policy, Digital Rights Watch
Michelle Rowland Federal Attorney-GeneralCarly Kind Australian Privacy Commissioner
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Federal government weighs banning smart glasses in Commonwealth buildings
Bloomberg and the ABC report Australia's government is considering prohibiting smart glasses in federal office buildings on privacy and security grounds, as Labor consults on new national AI standards for the sector.
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first by Bloomberg Politics, 9d ago · also Guardian, Anadolu Agency, Investing.com News, iTnews, Reuters
4 more headlines
- Albanese government considers ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses in public office and buildings Guardian Tech · 9d ago
- Australia considers smart glasses ban for federal government workplaces Anadolu Agency · 9d ago
- Australia considers banning the use of smart glasses in government buildings Investing.com News · 9d ago
- Albanese government considers ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses in public offices and buildings The Guardian · 8d ago
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first by Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9d ago · also ABC Australia, The Canberra Times
2 more headlines
- Smart glasses ban looms as Labor sets out new AI rules ABC Australia · 9d ago
- Smart glasses ban in public service looms in AI sweep The Canberra Times · 9d ago
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TL;DR: As Australia debates a potential ban on smart glasses in government offices, public opinion in Sydney reveals mixed feelings about the privacy and security implications of this technology. https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cm9w4nen zv4no?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss # law # tech # legaltech ⚖️ 🤖 # autosum
2 more of the top 3 · 8 posts in this stretch
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insta have released a tiny camera you don't even have to point, airpod pro's come out with cameras next year. We live under the most comprehensive surveillance any human has ever been subject to, we literally made people billionaires by giving away our data for free. I am absolutely astounded at how people have sleepwalked into giving away every…
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Australia Considers Smart Glasses Ban in Government Workplaces, While 70 People Sue Meta Over Unknowing Data Collection https:// yro.slashdot.org/story/26/09/2 1/0243250/australia-considers-smart-glasses-ban-in-government-workplaces-while-70-people-sue-meta-over-unknowing-data-collection?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon
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Adelaide councillor and Fringe venue float their own smart-glasses restrictions
An Adelaide city councillor and a prominent Fringe festival venue propose significantly restricting smart-glasses use in public spaces, extending the trend beyond Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
“the people who are the reason for them being called 'pervert glasses' would have acted exactly the same…”
— Moneia, Reddit commenter · source -
1 outlet first by ABC Australia, 9d ago · read ↗
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Nah, because the people who are the reason for them being called 'pervert glasses' would have acted exactly the same (being pervy and posting to social media). If anything, IMO, it'd have been picked up quicker if it was being drowned out with *waves hands* every other piece of dystopian news
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- 1 day quiet
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Canterbury-Bankstown votes to approve the ban; Randwick also restricts glasses
Councillors vote overwhelmingly to ban the devices at its aquatic centres, with El-Hayek calling them 'pervert glasses'; the Guardian reports Randwick council has separately banned the devices at Des Renford leisure centre.
“Their biggest concerns are around 'perverts and paedophiles' secretly filming in change rooms, swimming pools and around schools.”
— Bilal El-Hayek -
first by Guardian, 11d ago
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Maybe I don't understand how they work, but there are many times it would be nice to take a video of something - wildlife, a concert, etc. - but holding a phone or camera up takes you out of the moment. So you could record video, in a POV style, while still enjoying the thing you're doing. I don't own a pair, but I could see the value in it. At…
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Canterbury-Bankstown Council proposes smart-glasses ban at four Sydney pools
The Sydney council reveals a proposal letting lifeguards confiscate AI smart glasses or evict patrons who refuse to remove them, driven by mayor Bilal El-Hayek's concerns about covert recording of children.
“Mums are telling me they want very clear guidelines to protect their children from preying predators.”
— Bilal El-Hayek -
first by SMH.com.au, 10d ago · also Sydney Morning Herald
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first by BBC, 7d ago
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background
Melbourne's Yarra Council extends ban to pools, gyms, playgrounds, childcare — Yarra Council votes to ban smart glasses across its leisure and aquatic facilities, childcare centres and playgrounds, and calls on the federal government to strengthen privacy laws for new technologies.
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background
Brisbane City Council bans smart glasses at its 21 public pools — Brisbane becomes the first Australian council to publicly ban covert filming via AI smart glasses at its public pools, citing child-safety fears.
What people are saying 5 voices from 1 site · best of 10 · verbatim
- Sep 17
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I have them, use them for recording while fishing/biking. Love them but can understand why people are scared of them, but honestly if someone wants to be malicious it’s not going to be because a pair of glasses enables them.
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I always wanted them for bushwalking and hiking. The amount of cool stuff I see (mainly birds) and miss with the camera because it happens so quickly...
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A country is a bit more unwieldy to move than the org you are in. Unless you work for the UN?
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Kinda common sense, more than world leading. Our org has banned pretty much all AI tools apart from CoPilot due to data sovereignty and DLP concerns.
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I hope this anti-smart-glasses trend does not stigmatize deaf people who use them to see a transcription of what people are saying in conversation with them.