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<\/p>\n‘This is a new level of invasion of privacy’<\/p>\n
A pair of Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer AI glasses on display (Image: Bloomberg Finance LP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A Cork senator – who has called for a crackdown on AI glasses in public – has welcomed news of a report into privacy concerns surrounding the camera-equipped specs.<\/p>\n
The use of these glasses in Ireland has sparked debate in recent weeks, after a number of incidents in which members of the public and shop staff<\/a> were unknowingly filmed – with edited clips later being posted on social media.<\/p>\n Labour Senator<\/a> Laura Harmon has spoken about how cameras have been used to film women in their workplaces and during medical emergencies, and called for robust regulation in response to the rapidly evolving tech<\/a>. Representatives from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties meanwhile have described the glasses as “creepy.”<\/p>\n Today, Senator Harmon, who is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence welcomed the announcement of a report to be completed this summer by the European Data Protection Board. It will probe the privacy concerns surrounding Meta smart glasses.<\/p>\n Senator Harmon said: “We must keep pace with technology of this kind and create legislative boundaries to protect our physical privacy.<\/p>\n “It is vital that proper scrutiny is used in regard to these glasses and their possible breaches of existing EU privacy and data protection rules. People are being filmed in completely covert ways. This a new level of invasion compared to smart phones use where the principle of meaningful consent is all but lost due to the nature of the glasses.<\/p>\n “Reports of people in Cork and across Ireland tampering with the filming alert light built into many of these glasses are deeply worrying and must be addressed urgently. It is vital that we regulate the use of AI glasses for recreational filming to protect privacy in Ireland. We know too that Ireland\u2019s data protection watchdog said proper field testing was not carried out by Meta or Ray-Ban on their glasses to ensure their LED works as an effective notice of the device filming. We must have other means of protecting people from nonconsensual filming.<\/p>\n “I am once again calling for regulation of this technology to protect privacy and informed consent. I am hopeful that the impending report from the European Data Protection Board will work to inform these decisions.”<\/p>\n