IN BRIEF
- Meta's AI glasses and cheaper alternatives have sparked rising concerns over privacy.
- Australia's Privacy Commissioner will investigate the safety impacts of the wearable technology at the request of the Attorney-General.
The $89 Kmart alternative to Meta's artificial intelligence glasses has sold out. Its popularity has contributed to a government push to investigate privacy protections.
Released on 28 July, Anko's Smart Glasses were cleared from shelves across the country in under a week.
The product offered discreet surveillance technology to the mass market, selling for at least $200 less than premium Meta versions, which have been available for years.
The black-rimmed, clear-lens glasses can record high-definition video and snap photographs, which are then quickly transfered to smartphones.
Using HeyCyan software, users can also answer calls, listen to music and use an AI assistant.
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Kmart is among many retailers, including Amazon, Temu and AliExpress, that are selling cheaper alternatives.
On Friday, the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, appealed to Australia's Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to investigate the potential privacy implications of smart glasses.
Rowland requested that the independent statutory agency give the issue priority consideration, citing serious safety concerns for women and children.
"Privacy is an essential part of all our lives; it allows us to be who we are with dignity and without fear," Rowland said.
"Unlike other forms of technology, smart glasses may be used more discreetly, making it harder to know when you are being recorded.
"The OAIC regularly monitors the effects of new technologies on privacy — and the government has every faith that they will identify any new privacy risks and mitigation measures."
Rowland said the government will also continue to contribute to work to ensure "privacy laws are fit for purpose in the digital age".
According to Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind, 85 per cent of Australians have become increasingly concerned about their personal privacy since 2021.
She said that protections under the Privacy Act don't extend to those filmed by smart glasses and that new laws must be considered.
"Australia’s Privacy Act only applies to businesses and government agencies, not to individuals, and it only applies when those entities collect personal information," Kind wrote in a post to the OAIC webpage.
“In circumstances where a tech company is receiving and storing personal information collected by surveillance wearables, they’ll have to make sure they’re complying with privacy law."
However, she questioned the company's capacity to notify individuals that they are being recorded.
A growing, international concern
The technology has caused a stir worldwide, with some already taking steps to limit use. In the United Kingdom, they are restricted in a string of hospitality and entertainment venues.
Jeremy King, owner of multiple popular hospitality venues in London, said guests would be expected to remove smart glasses while dining in his venues.
"I would never knowingly allow any invasion of guest privacy other than the eyes we were born with," he told The Guardian.
Popular pub chain Wetherspoons also won't allow the glasses.
"The general code that applies in our pubs, and most pubs, is that you can't film customers or employees without their permission," said chief executive Tim Martin.
"Meta glasses seem to breach this code, and common sense, by enabling surreptitious surveillance, so our instinct is to say turn off the cameras," he told The Guardian.
ATG Theatres, which operates Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse and other esteemed theatres across London, also said they would not allow guests to wear the glasses during performances.
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