Smart glasses can record photos and videos without others being aware. Photo: Tanny Solt.
A southern NSW council has become the latest to move to ban smart glasses over privacy concerns, but an expert believes they could have some legitimate uses.
Yass Valley Council Mayor Jasmin Jones used a mayoral minute to call for a ban on the use of so-called ‘smart glasses’ within council facilities.
The eyewear looks like traditional sunglasses, but can record video and take photos.
Her motion called for in-principle support for the development of a policy that would ban people from “wearing, holding or positioning” the glasses, along with other covert recording devices, in council facilities.
It also called for, in the short term, a ban on the devices at the Yass and Binalong pools.
“It essentially gives, in principle, support for our council team to go away and unpack what a policy should look like for our properties,” she said.
“It also gives immediate direction for a venue where we already have a ban on recording … They aren’t welcome in Yass Memorial and Binalong swimming pools.”
Mayor Jones also flagged possible exemptions for accessibility reasons.
She told the meeting the use of smart glasses risked placing people’s privacy “at risk”, arguing that YVC had a duty of care to limit their use ahead of swimming season.
“If this saves just one teenage life because they didn’t realise that they were going to be filmed in their swimming costume at the pool, then we’ve done our job because it’s really tough out there.
“It’s really tough out there to be a teenager.”
Privacy concerns were echoed by councillor David Carter.
He said regulations around smart glasses should be developed, similar to existing laws against harassment or non-consensual recordings (particularly of children).
“I think we should be sending a message of supporting those in relevant positions of authority to take care and protect members of our community from unwanted intrusions into their broader privacy,” he said.
Councillor Alvaro Charry said the rapid development of AI and similar technologies was raising moral questions for lawmakers.
He pointed to the OpenAI hack of Medicare.
“This council absolutely gets bashed quite frequently to say, ‘Well, stay in your lane – rates, roads, and rubbish’.
“OK, fair enough … You’ve got to adapt and make sure that you put in accurate and appropriate regulations around it, within our level of remit and our authority.”
But he said a policy would need to consider enforcement measures carefully.
“I note that the CEO and her staff are already spread quite thinly.
“We know that there are quite significant capability gaps within her staff. So, is this actually asking a lot of our staff that are already under pressure to deliver the services that our community deserves?”
Dr Ryan Payne is director of the Canberra Behavioural Lab at the University of Canberra, and studies biometrics and AI privacy.
He called for an approach towards regulations that considered where smart glasses could provide a genuine benefit, and what “accountability requirements” after misuse would look like.
“I think it is the biggest fear about what this can become,” he said.
“Even if it isn’t used for surveillance, the idea that everyone is always being watched will have a chilling effect on human behaviour.”
In Australia, Randwick, Canterbury-Bankstown, South Yarra and Brisbane councils have also moved to ban or limit their use.
Dr Payne said that while governments around the world had raised privacy concerns, the devices were becoming increasingly known for use in the medical and military fields.
“The original intention was in terms of accessibility,” he said of the technology.
“The very, very first – if you go back to the 1990s – were for accessibility. It was a way for people to have transcriptions available to them if they had a hearing impairment or if there was a language barrier.
“But almost all surveillance tech starts out for safety and security and then transforms to a surveillance basis.”
Earlier this month, the Federal Government said it wasn’t considering an import ban on smart glasses, but encouraged local councils to develop their own policies.
