{"slug": "norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be", "title": "Norway wants to ban AI glasses from parks, schools and gyms, because people can be filmed without knowing it", "summary": "Norway's government announced on Monday it will propose a temporary ban on AI glasses in parks, beaches, museums, shopping centres, schools, kindergartens, gyms, pools and health institutions, with digitalisation minister Torgeir Micaelsen saying the bill will go to parliament \"as soon as possible.\" The proposal would not ban the glasses outright — owners could still use them in private and where no one else risks being filmed without consent — and would include limited exemptions, including for blind and partially sighted users backed by Norway's Association of the Blind. The move reverses the position of Micaelsen's predecessor Karianne Tung, who opposed a general ban, and follows pressure from Norway's data protection authority Datatilsynet, which urged parliament to halt sales until rules are in place, plus restrictions imposed by companies including bank DNB and energy group Equinor.", "body_md": "A pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, with a camera in each corner of the frame. Illustrative. Image: [ItzANormalFioko](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rayban_x_Meta_glasses_Generazione_2_con_lenti_Polaroid,_wayfarer.jpg) / Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped\n\nNorway’s government says it will propose a [temporary ban on AI glasses](https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/vil-innfore-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller/id3175516/) in a long list of public places, from parks and beaches to schools, gyms and hospitals, because people nearby can be photographed, filmed or recorded without knowing it.\n\nThe plan, announced on Monday by digitalisation minister Torgeir Micaelsen, would not ban the glasses outright. People could still own and use them in private, and in places where nobody else risks being filmed without their consent. The government says it will put a bill to parliament “as soon as possible”.\n\n## Where the ban would apply\n\nThe proposal covers three kinds of place, according to the government’s announcement as reported by [TV 2](https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/regjeringen-vil-ha-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller-pa-utvalgte-steder/19291037/) and Reuters:\n\n- **Busy public spaces:** parks, beaches, museums, shopping centres, amusement parks and public events.\n- **Places for children:** schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, youth clubs and events for children.\n- **Privacy-sensitive places:** health institutions, and gyms and pools with changing rooms and showers. Universities and colleges are also being considered.\n\nThere would be exemptions in limited cases, including for vulnerable groups and uses that benefit society. Norway’s Association of the Blind has argued that smart glasses make a real difference to blind and partially sighted people.\n\n## “We don’t want a society where people are worried about being watched”\n\nMicaelsen, who took over the ministry about a month ago, said the worry is covert recording:\n\nI am worried that new, powerful technology is being introduced where people risk being photographed, filmed or audio-recorded without knowing it.\n\nTorgeir Micaelsen, Norway’s digitalisation minister, via Reuters\n\n“We don’t want a society where people are worried about being watched,” he told [NRK](https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/vil-innfore-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller-1.18045250) (our translation).\n\nThe ban is meant as a stopgap. The government will also set up an expert group to advise on permanent national rules for body-worn technology, which Micaelsen first floated in mid-September, when he told [NRK](https://www.nrk.no/norge/regjeringa-vurderer-forbud-mot-meta-briller-1.18025892) the government was considering a ban.\n\n## A quick change of course\n\nIt is a sharp turn from his predecessor, Karianne Tung, who opposed a general ban and was open only to limits on facial recognition. Pressure had been building: according to TV 2, the education minister has asked councils to keep the glasses out of schools, Norway’s data protection authority Datatilsynet has urged parliament to stop sales until rules are in place, and companies including the bank DNB and the energy group Equinor have brought in their own restrictions.\n\nThe government’s announcement covers AI glasses in general, but the best-known are Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, which have cameras in the frame and are due to get Meta’s [Muse AI agent](https://madrobot.blog/2026/09/25/what-is-meta-muse-ai-agent-explained/). Meta, which has also launched a [camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio](https://madrobot.blog/2026/09/24/meta-muse-charm-ai-agent-keychain-tamagotchi/) pair, hasn’t commented on Norway’s plan.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nNorway would be one of the first countries to restrict where AI glasses can be worn, and its list of places is wide enough to cover most of daily life outside the home. If it works, other European governments worried about covert filming have a ready-made model to copy, just as Meta and its rivals are betting on glasses as the next home for their AI agents.\n\n*Sources: [Government of Norway](https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/vil-innfore-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller/id3175516/), [TV 2](https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/regjeringen-vil-ha-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller-pa-utvalgte-steder/19291037/), [NRK](https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/vil-innfore-midlertidig-forbud-mot-ki-briller-1.18045250), [NRK (Sep 15)](https://www.nrk.no/norge/regjeringa-vurderer-forbud-mot-meta-briller-1.18025892), [Reuters](https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-10-05/norway-to-propose-temporary-ban-on-ai-glasses-in-some-public-places).*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be", "canonical_source": "https://madrobot.blog/2026/10/05/norway-temporary-ban-ai-glasses-public-places-schools-parks-micaelsen/", "published_at": "2026-10-05 09:28:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-05 09:47:39.150346+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-ethics", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Norway", "Torgeir Micaelsen", "Karianne Tung", "Datatilsynet", "Meta", "Ray-Ban Meta", "DNB", "Equinor"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/norway-wants-to-ban-ai-glasses-from-parks-schools-and-gyms-because-people-can-be.jsonld"}}