Discreet, camera-enabled smart glasses such as Meta\u2019s Ray-Bans and Kmart\u2019s Anko glasses may require new laws amid fears they could be used to \u201cexploit or surveil vulnerable groups\u201d, Australia\u2019s privacy tsar has warned. <\/p>\n
In a blog post, Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said the proliferation of smart glasses \u2013 including similar products likely to be released by Google and Apple by 2027 \u2013 would \u201cfundamentally alter our experience of interpersonal interactions, in both private and public spaces\u201d, and undermine Australians\u2019 ability to make privacy choice without knowing \u201cwe could be filmed, recorded or photographed at any time.\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would also require consideration of whether we need new laws,\u201d Ms Kind said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia\u2019s Privacy Act only applies to businesses and government agencies, not to individuals, and it only applies when those entities collect personal information. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn circumstances where a tech company is receiving and storing personal information collected by surveillance wearables, they\u2019ll have to make sure they\u2019re complying with privacy law. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there are real questions as to whether they will be able to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow will they notify individuals that their images or voice has been recorded? If they\u2019re making facial recognition features available, how will they ensure that they have the consent of the people whose faces the tech is analysing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, in a statement, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said she had written to Ms Kind over potential privacy implications of the glasses, and asked that the matter be given priority. <\/p>\n
\u201cPrivacy is an essential part of all our lives; it allows us to be who we are with dignity and without fear,\u201d Ms Rowland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike other forms of technology, smart glasses may be used more discreetly, making it harder to know when you are being recorded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) regularly monitors the effects of new technologies on privacy \u2013 and the government has every faith that they will identify any new privacy risks and mitigation measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is continuing to work on the next phase of privacy reforms to ensure our privacy laws are fit for purpose in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Harmful ways\u2019<\/p>\n
For the most part, the privacy implications of the emerging technology would be \u201cfew, and mild\u201d, Ms Kind said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur images and opinions would take up space in a data centre somewhere but would be unlikely to be used or analysed in any way that materially affects us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Privacy Commissioner questioned whether there might even be benefits from the use of surveillance wearables in certain sectors, such as the uptake of body-cams.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, there will be exceptions to benign usage \u2013 where smart glasses users are able to use the tech in harmful ways to exploit or surveil vulnerable groups, such as children or victims of domestic violence, or for other untoward ends, such as corporate espionage, data theft, extortion or bribery,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond safety concerns, there is also the impact on community values and the public interest in privacy. In aggregate, the effects of mainstreamed surveillance wearables would be the emergence of new privacy risks, new safety concerns, and new societal norms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, the federal government is probing the second tranche of its privacy reforms, \u201cwhich are likely to include expanding the scope of application of privacy law in ways that create additional hurdles for the developers of surveillance wearables,\u201d Ms Kind said<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the proposed reforms, for example, entities will need to be able to demonstrate that their collection and use of personal information, including to train AI models, is both fair and reasonable.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHigher standards around consent, more protections on geolocation data and an expanded definition of personal information are also likely to strengthen my hand as Australia\u2019s privacy regulator in scrutinising these tools.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Privacy Act, however, stops short of personal information collected by individuals, meaning locally-stored data may fall outside of the Act.<\/p>\n
Recent tort law and the forthcoming Digital Duty of Care may go some way to addressing that gap in certain circumstances \u2013 however, Ms Kind said the regulator was nonetheless probing whether intervention in the sector was needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have engaged with one entity on at least two occasions this year to further understand the technical specifications of surveillance wearables on offer,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as public trust in technology companies remains extremely low, the bar for establishing a social licence for rolling out new tech will be high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meta advises users of the Ray-Ban smart glasses, which retail for as little as $400, to \u201crespect people\u2019s preferences\u201d and stop recording if anyone expresses that \u201cthey would rather opt out\u201d, and to not cover an LED light intended to show the device is recording. <\/p>\n
\u201cObey the law. Don\u2019t use your glasses to engage in harmful activities such as harassment, infringing on privacy rights or capturing sensitive information such as pin codes,\u201d Meta said on its website. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Discreet, camera-enabled smart glasses such as Meta\u2019s Ray-Bans and Kmart\u2019s Anko glasses may require new laws amid 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