Norway wants to regulate the use of smart glasses

Norway has announced that it wants to regulate the use of smart glasses and other similar devices, and that it is considering banning functions that allow facial recognition in public spaces. Thesmart glasses they allow the wearer to take photos and videos, listen to music, receive calls, translate signs into another language, project text or maps into the field of vision, or interact with a built-in artificial intelligence assistant.

“We can see that people’s privacy and intimacy are under pressure from new technologies and, for this reason, I want to regulate smart glasses and similar devices more strictly than is the case today”, declared the Minister of Digitalisation, Karianne Tungin a statement. “This could, for example, involve banning functions such as facial recognition of other people in public spaces,” he indicated.

Norway’s Digitalisation Minister Karianne Tung says she will consider banning facial recognition features in smart glasses, such as Meta’s glasses equipped with artificial intelligence and filming capabilities.https://t.co/Cu8OLrMtJx

— Joakim (@joakial_) August 25, 2026

The risks of using smart glasses

The minister said she intended to appoint a group of experts to advise the government on how to better protect consumers in the face of new technologies, and urged the public and private sectors to consider adopting their own guidelines.

“There is a clear trend of AI being associated with cameras and microphones embedded in glasses, earphones, hats and other everyday objects. We must prevent this equipment from being used to monitor other people in public spaces,” Tung said.

The possible stop to sales in Norway

The head of digital policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council, Find Lutzow-Holm Myrstadpraised the government’s measure and urged retailers to suspend the sale of smart glasses until there is legal clarity on the issue.

According to some reports, Meta has developed a facial recognition function ready to be integrated into its smart glasses. “Meta already has this technology ready to go, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s incorporated into glasses,” said Myrstad, who warned that banning these features won’t stop wearers from covertly recording other people. “The potential for abuse is enormous,” he said.