European privacy regulators are calling for individuals wearing smart glasses in public places to be identifiable by auditory and visual signals similar to those of a reversing truck.
New Recommendations from Regulators
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which consists of national privacy regulators across Europe, issued a statement regarding smart glasses on Tuesday. This statement was released following a meeting in Brussels and includes recommendations for informing others about the recording of images by these devices.
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Necessary Measures for Transparency
Privacy regulators have suggested that manufacturers of smart glasses should implement a set of transparency measures to ensure that others are aware of being recorded. These measures could include activating lights or playing sounds during recording, using voice commands to initiate recording, sending notifications to nearby individuals' smartphones, and other design indicators.
This statement is not legally binding but serves as guidance for assessing compliance with European Union privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Regulators emphasized that not only should users of smart glasses respect the privacy of others, but manufacturers of these devices and providers of connected applications or services may also bear responsibility for adhering to these rules.
Attention to Domestic Exceptions
The GDPR regulations apply to companies and organizations and do not apply when individuals process personal data in a domestic context. Regulators stated that this domestic exception should be interpreted narrowly concerning smart glasses and will not include sharing photos or videos of others on public social media accounts.
Technology companies like Meta have marketed their smart glasses as stylish and discreet products to consumers. Meta has included an LED light in its smart glasses that activates during recording and is presented as a key privacy protection feature.
Pressure on Smart Glass Manufacturers
The regulators' statement may compel smart glasses manufacturers to reassess how they market these products to European consumers. The EDPB has called for the development of industry standards to ensure that people can identify smart glasses and be informed about how data is processed.
The group of European privacy regulators also published a study on the social acceptance of smart glasses, which was released today.
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