Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Norway Weighs Tighter Privacy Rules for Meta Smart Glasses
Norway is considering stronger privacy rules for smart glasses.
These glasses can take pictures, record videos, make calls and use artificial intelligence.
They can also translate signs and show maps or text.
A Norwegian minister said new technology is putting pressure on people’s private lives.
She suggested that recognizing strangers’ faces in public could be banned.
A consumer group welcomed the proposal and asked stores to pause sales until the law is clearer.
The group also warned that people could still secretly record others.
An expert group will advise the government on how to protect consumers from new technologies.
Norwegian Digitalisation Minister Tung said smart glasses and similar devices may need stricter regulation.
Possible measures include banning facial recognition of other people in public spaces.
Smart glasses can take photos and videos, make calls, translate signs, display maps and text, and use AI assistants.
Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad urged retailers to stop selling the devices until legal rules are clarified.
Myrstad warned that facial recognition could be integrated into Meta’s glasses and that secret filming would remain possible even if the feature were banned.
- Who
- Norwegian Digitalisation Minister Tung, the Norwegian Consumer Council and its digital-policy head Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad.
- What
- Norway is considering tighter rules for camera-enabled smart glasses and similar devices, including a possible ban on facial recognition in public spaces.
- When
- The articles do not specify a date.
- Where
- Norway, particularly in public spaces where the devices may be used.
- Why
- Officials and consumer advocates say cameras, microphones and AI could increase surveillance and threaten privacy.
- Technology
- Smart glasses can capture photos and videos, handle calls, translate signs, display text or maps, and interact with AI assistants.
- Possible restriction
- Norway could ban facial recognition of other people in public spaces.
- Government action
- An expert group will advise the government on protecting consumers from emerging technologies.
- Consumer Council position
- Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad welcomed tighter rules and called for legal clarity.
- Retail recommendation
- Myrstad urged retailers to stop selling smart glasses until the legal position is clear.
- Main concern
- The combination of AI with cameras and microphones in everyday devices could enable monitoring of people in public.
- Meta concern
- Myrstad said Meta already has facial-recognition technology ready for integration into its smart glasses.