Austria Eyes Smart Glasses Curbs as Privacy Fears Mount

(MENAFN) Austria is preparing a parliamentary inquiry into smart glasses as privacy worries intensify, the country’s secretary of state for digitalization said Wednesday.

Alexander Proll unveiled a three-stage framework to regulate the devices, which can come equipped with built-in cameras, microphones and artificial intelligence features, according to a national public broadcaster.

The proposal would bar recording in sensitive locations, among them schools, kindergartens, changing rooms, toilets, courts, prisons, and police and military facilities. Filming in public spaces would have to be plainly visible to those nearby.

Proll said the inquiry is the next step and would convene experts in science, data protection and technology, along with representatives of people affected by the glasses.

He rejected an outright ban. The government’s goal, he said, is to let technological progress continue while making sure no one can be filmed in secret.

Proll added that manufacturers should be required to make recordings clearly identifiable, using measures such as visible recording lights and acoustic signals.

Public pressure is building. Nearly 25,000 people have signed a petition demanding a ban on smart glasses, the broadcaster reported. Last week, the Vienna city government also urged federal authorities to examine a possible ban on the devices in public transportation, government offices and schools.

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