Norway may ban facial recognition in smart glasses but has set no deadline

Norway will tighten regulation of smart glasses and could ban facial recognition in public spaces, said Digitalisation Minister Karianne Tung.

She has set no deadline and will first convene an expert group.

Tung asks agencies and companies to write their own rules

Cameras and microphones are embedded in everyday devices, from glasses to earbuds to caps, and are connected to artificial intelligence.

Norway “must avoid this equipment being used to monitor other people in public spaces,” she said.

Tung will set up an expert group to counsel the government on consumer protection. Meanwhile, she asked private companies and public agencies to draw up their own guidelines.

Myrstad says a ban would not stop covert filming

There’s no timetable that has been set. One example of what tougher rules could look like was a ban on facial recognition technology.

Norway’s Consumer Council went further than the minister. Its head of digital policy, Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad, said retailers should remove smart glasses from shelves until legality is clarified.

Myrstad said Meta’s facial recognition capability is already built and ready to ship. Banning that one feature wouldn’t stop a wearer from filming strangers without their knowledge.

He described the potential for abuse as “enormous.”

Women approached in public were secretly filmed with Ray-Ban Meta glasses in January, and clips were posted on TikTok. In February, contractors in Nairobi hired to train Meta’s AI were reported to have reviewed recordings of people undressing, using bathrooms, and having sex.

In April, the ACLU and 75 other organizations called on Meta to scrap facial recognition on the glasses. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton mounted an investigation in May.

Meta patched its devices in July after users discovered a way to defeat the light meant to signal that recording is ongoing.

The Facebook maker brought out its $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses in September 2025, its first Ray-Bans with a built-in augmented reality screen, Cryptopolitan reported. Part of it is managed by a neural band worn on the wrist that reads nerve signals from the forearm.

A less pricey Ray-Ban Meta model sells at $379. There is an LED on those glasses that illuminates when the camera is recording.

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